Take Me Or Leave Me
by Stessa
Summary: Pezberry. Set after A Very Glee Christmas. Santana's not been truly herself for a long time, and during a Christmas party, she learns that Rachel Berry has secrets too, and that she might not be half bad. Especially not if you're tired of feeling lonely.
1. Don't Fight, Don't Lose Your Head

**Take Me Or Leave Me **

**Chapter One **

**Don't Fight, Don't Lose Your Head **

How she got roped into these things, Santana would never know.

It wasn't like she'd _volunteered_ to throw a tiny Christmas gathering for everyone in Glee Club. She would actually have preferred to be by herself in her house now that her family had decided to take a small trip to visit some family for the day. But as soon as Puck found out that the giant Lopez house would be empty, he'd persuaded her into inviting everyone over. Even though not everyone celebrated Christmas, they had all thought it would be fun to get together. And later on, more people would filter in and the real party would get started with lots of booze and dancing.

But currently, it was only her and the Gleeks in her house. She'd had Brittany and Quinn over earlier to help set the table for 15 people. All the original members of New Directions from last year would be attending, even Matt who'd decided to grace them with his presence. Of course Sam and Lauren Zizes would be joining them, along with Blaine, who Kurt had insisting on bringing to meet everyone. They'd all brought some sort of dish to their festive feast, but were currently sitting at the table, hungry as hell, and waiting for Rachel Berry to show up, too.

What the fuck took her so long, Santana would never know. All she knew was that she'd skipped breakfast this morning to make room for all the delicious food she'd want to eat and was really fucking hungry right now.

"Where is she?" Mercedes complained with a longing look to the food on the table.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "She's probably throwing another diva fit somewhere. Who knows."

"Why don't we just start without her?" Matt piped up, glancing towards the big grandfather clock at the end of the room, "She's an hour late."

While most people spoke up in agreement, it was surprisingly Kurt who shook his head. "We're not starting without Rachel! This is supposed to be about us bonding outside of Glee. I haven't seen you guys in forever, let's not ruin the mood, people!"

Puck flipped his phone open, "I doubt her tiny Prius can make it through the snow. I told her I'd pick her up, she said no fucking way."

"Rachel never curses." Brittany absent-mindedly informed him.

Finn snorted and cast a sideways glance at Puck, "You would have just _loved_ to pick her up, wouldn't you?"

"Dude, what's your problem!" Puck fired right back, immediately picking up on the undertones of Finn's question.

Santana, who'd followed the exchange around the table with her eyes, found herself getting even more curious when she watched the two friends interact. Things had been tense between them for a few weeks now, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. It was ever since Berry and Finn broke up, but that could hardly have anything to do with it.

When the doorbell rang, and broke everyone out of the intense atmosphere that had erupted between the two glaring boys, Santana shot out of her seat. "That's probably her. Why don't you pour something do drink and we'll be right with you."

Everyone started talking again and Santana made her way through the giant hallway and towards the front door. She could tell by looking through the glass that it was most definitely Rachel on the other side of the door. It was a tiny figure huddled in too much clothes and loaded with bags. The Latina pulled the door open and was met by a bright Rachel Berry smile.

"Santana!" she cheered and stepped inside, "Merry Christmas, thanks for having us."

Santana just gaped at the little diva, before reaching out to take some of the things Rachel carried with her. "What's all this shit, Berry?"

Rachel didn't answer as she took off her boots and hung her coat on the rack. Underneath all of her scarves and extra layers of sweatshirts, she was wearing her usual attire. Today it consisted of a red sweater with a reindeer on it and a red and green argyle skirt. Thankfully, she'd lost the knee socks and was spotting a pair of woollen panty hose. She turned to Santana then and said, "I took the liberty of preparing some tasty vegan dishes. My guess is that there is enough meat on that table to feed the homeless for two years, and while that would be good, I doubt Noah will leave anything at all. Since I am a vegan, I figured that I should make myself something nice. You are more than welcome to try it though, I will happily share."

Santana blinked for a second, not sure if she understood everything Rachel had just said, but nodded nonetheless.

"Oh, and I apologise profusely for being late. My Prius got stuck in a pile of snow and I had to wait to get it pulled out. Here," she pushed a cookie box into Santana's now empty arms, "these are for your mother as an attempt to thank her for her hospitality."

Santana's mouth practically started watering with the thoughts of Rachel's famous sugar cookies in that box and knew that none would be left for her mother when her family returned. She would probably consume every crumb tomorrow while nursing her hangover. "Are these-?"

"Those are not my famous sugar cookies, no." Rachel told her with a tiny laugh. "In the true spirit of Christmas I baked her a batch of my famous Christmas cookies."

Pulling the lid off of the cookie jar, Santana reached for the first cookie she could see and stuffed it into her mouth. _Damn!_ Many things could be said about Rachel Berry, but that girl could bake. This was probably one of the best cookies she'd ever tasted, even better than those sugar cookies she always made when she screwed up in Glee. Grabbing another one from the box, she turned to Rachel, "These are good, Berry."

"They're for your mother!" Rachel hissed, but she had a smile on her face all the same.

Santana licked her lips. "The rest of us are starving, waiting for you, come on, Dwarf."

Rachel rolled her eyes, but followed her down the hall nonetheless, holding her vegan food proudly in her hands. Santana could hear the rest of their friends talking in the dining room, but when she entered, everyone turned to look at them. Holding out the cookie jar, she shot them a smile, "Berry brought cookies."

A sound of contentment was heard through the room – everyone loved Rachel's cookies just as much as they hated her personality.

"They're not my sugar cookies." Rachel informed them all, when she took a seat on the spare chair next to Puck and placed a light kiss on his cheek.

"No they're better," Santana agreed and opened the box to pass it around the table, "it's like Christmas in a cookie."

Rachel smiled brightly as everyone munched on a cookie, and Santana chuckled to herself. It really didn't take much to please that girl. The Latina tore her eyes away from the tiny diva and found herself glancing at Brittany instead, who was feeding Artie her cookie, while he was trying to explain to her that 'Christmas' wasn't actually _inside_ the cookie, but it was more a way of expressing how the taste reminded everyone of Christmas.

Santana had to force herself to move her eyes away from the blonde girl when she and Artie started kissing. It hurt her heart to see them like that. She'd never admit it to anyone, but she missed Brittany, and she was beginning to regret not taking her up on her offer about being exclusive and being out. If she'd done that, Brittany wouldn't be feeding Artie cookies right now; she'd be feeding _her_ cookies instead.

Quinn, who was on her left side, nudged her gently, and Santana was reminded that she was supposed to be the hostess right now. "Alright everyone!" she said, and all their eyes turned to meet hers when she demanded their attention. "Thanks for getting your asses here today, even if some were _obnoxiously late._"

Rachel opened her mouth to start another rant about her Prius and the snow, but Puck placed a hand across her mouth, "Shut it, Rachel." he gently told her, and Santana wondered for a brief second, when Puck had started being gentle with anybody... it was a Rachel and Noah thing, apparently.

Snapping out of it, she raised her glass, "This was Puck's idea, not mine, but I guess it's not so bad. We get to eat some home-made food right now and later we'll drink ourselves into obliviousness and make out with random people. Which really, I believe, is what Christmas is all about! Happy holidays everybody!"

"Happy holidays!" everybody agreed and they clinked their glasses and then sat down to dig in.

Talk around the table was just like a regular afternoon in Glee. No one got along for very long, especially not when Rachel was there, but thankfully she sat a few seats down from Santana, who had Quinn with her wonder boy on her left side, and Matt to her right side, closely followed by Mike, then Tina. She didn't talk much though, she found her eyes moving to Brittany more often than they probably should have, and when she forced herself to look away, her eyes immediately settled on Rachel instead, who was either talking to Puck, or glancing at Finn beneath her eyelashes. The tall boy sat across from them, and though he wasn't a talker, it was unusual to see him _that _quiet. He just kept shooting ugly looks in the direction of Rachel and Puck.

When they were all full to the extent of it actually being uncomfortable, Santana thought it would probably be a good idea to wait with the dessert for a little while. Tina's mum had made them home-made ice cream and with Rachel's cookies as well, they would have to at least make a bit of room for it. There was still plenty of food left, and if she put it in the fridge now, she could eat leftovers for the next couple of days, which she wouldn't mind at all.

She got up to start carrying the food into the kitchen, and Quinn stood up to help as well. Rachel also seemed to get the idea, when she started stacking their dirty plates. Everyone else just slumped back into their chairs and rested their full bellies. The Lopez kitchen was by no means small, but when three teenage girls are moving around in there, stacking the dishwasher and putting food into the freezer and the fridge, things can get pretty cramped. So when Finn and his giant frame entered the kitchen too, to refill the water pitcher, he slammed the door straight into Quinn, who managed to drop the mashed potatoes straight onto Rachel.

Quinn gasped and the diva just stood there, her eyes fluttering as she looked down at herself. Finn's eyes were huge too, and he quickly placed the pitcher on the table, before he ran out of there, slamming the door behind him. Taking in the entire scene, Santana couldn't help the giggle that erupted from her throat, and soon Quinn was laughing too, while Rachel brushed a smudge of mashed potato out of her hair.

"Look on the bright side," Quinn laughed, as she leaned against the counter, "the sweater just got_ so much_ prettier!"

Rachel shot them both a hurtful glare and marched out of the kitchen and straight down the hallway. Santana assumed she'd found the bathroom, because she could hear the lock turn. With Rachel actually out of the room though, the situation wasn't so hilarious anymore, and the two cheerleaders quickly finished putting everything away and grabbed the bowls for the ice cream, before entering the dining room again.

Finn was sulking in his chair, probably mortified that he'd just managed to make an even bigger mess of his situation with Rachel, but Santana didn't care. She didn't see why he had anything to apologise over in regards of Rachel. It wasn't like he'd cheated on the diva, he'd just decided not to share the entire truth. Rachel was angry at him for something she didn't have the right to be angry about.

Rachel returned to the room with her head held high and her sweater long forgotten. She must have been wearing something underneath, because she was now spotting a tight black top, and she'd managed to wipe the mashed potatoes off of her skirt, but lost the panty hose as well.

"Alright, everybody, it's time to start drinking!" Mike announced, and everybody pulled their drinks onto the table. While Santana was popping open one of her wine coolers, she saw that Berry had now reached for the water pitcher, and that shit just didn't fly.

She barked, "Hell no, Berry! You're drinking tonight."

Rachel looked like a deer caught in the headlights for a second, before she opened her mouth to object, "I refuse to sink to the low levels of teenage stupidity, and I will be driving my car home tonight, so therefore I find it highly inappropriate to consume alcohol."

Lauren looked at her through her glasses. "You have tasted alcohol before, haven't you, Berry?"

Rachel shot her an offended look, "Of course I have! I do enjoy the occasional glass of wine when the timing is appropriate."

"Well, that time is now." Sam piped up and lifted the box of red wine that him and Quinn bad brought. Santana caught the glint in his eye, and she realised why everyone was so set on getting Rachel to drink. It'd probably loosen her up a little bit, and God knew she needed to relax.

"Get that stick out of your ass and have a wine cooler, Berry." Santana firmly told her, before she threw a bottle in Puck's direction, and he caught it with ease.

Rachel refused to accept it from him though, "While I resent the insinuation that I am to have anything up my behind, I will taste your wine cooler, Santana." she replied, finally taking the bottle from Puck, who had popped the lid. "Thank you, Noah."

Quinn, who'd been drinking red wine all through dinner, shook her head. "I wouldn't drink those near Puck, you never know what can happen afterwards."

Almost everybody around that table knew that Puck had gotten Quinn wine coolers before they slept together, so no one dared to laugh at that joke at all. Despite the fact that Quinn seemed contend with everything that happened last year, Santana also knew that Quinn spent an insane amount of time wondering about Beth and how she was doing.

Rachel looked briefly at Puck, before turning to Quinn again. At this point, everyone was following the conversation, because a good Quinn and Rachel smack down was too important to miss. "If you're insinuating that I'd ever participate in such actions with Noah, I will kindly inform you, Quinn, that I have no such desire. Wine coolers or not."

Everyone thought that Quinn was going to fire something right back at her, but it was – surprisingly – Finn who spoke up next, his giant fist landing on the table with a smack. "Oh, so you wouldn't do that, Rachel?"

Rachel blinked a few times, and Santana could tell that she was doubting what to answer. "No, I wouldn't, Finn. You should know that."

"I don't know that. You haven't given me any reason to believe that you don't want to sleep with him." he firmly said, and the glare he sent her way, it seriously ran a chill up Santana's spine.

Rachel lowered her eyes to her plate for a second, as everyone held their breaths. Then she leaned forward and looked up at Finn through her long hair and gave him one of those looks that usually made him follow her around like a puppy and do everything she said. "Finn, I don't think this is the appropriate time to discuss this."

Finn heaved in a deep breath, not affected by her look at all. "How do you think it makes me feel when you're both sitting right in front of me?"

Okay, so now Santana was seriously fucking intrigued. She knew that Berry and Finn had broken up, but maybe there was more to the story than just Finn's lies? It seemed like Puck was involved somehow and that it wasn't Finn working for Rachel's forgiveness, but the other way around...

Rachel pushed her chair back and stood up, hands on hips. "Kitchen," she firmly told Finn, "_right now_."

He did follow her when she marched right out of there, Santana had to give him that. She wasn't sure _she_ would have dared to go follow Rachel with the look she just had on her face. But also... refusing her, when she was that furious? Kind of badass to do, too.

"Okay," Mercedes exclaimed as soon as the door smacked close behind the two, "what's that about?"

They all huddled their heads together across the table and in low voices started making weird suggestions as to what was going on with the Glee power couple. All except for Puck, who was leaning back in his chair, sipping his beer, and Kurt, who had an offended look on his face.

"I thought that Rachel dumped him after she found out about Santana!" Artie piped up, and for a second everyone turned to look at the Latina, who just shrugged her shoulders.

"It seems to me though, that Finn's actually mad at Rachel." Tina contributed, and Santana wanted to clap her hands together for her friends. Wow, it took them that long to see that? Seriously? She'd been feeling that for awhile, mostly because Finn hadn't sweet talked Rachel at all during the last week before Christmas break.

Kurt broke their gossip party with a scowl, "Could we not discuss Rachel and Finn's relationship? Frankly, it's making me feel ill."

Blaine placed a calming hand on Kurt's arm, "What's the matter?"

Kurt swallowed loudly and turned to look briefly at the door, where they could hear muffled voices coming from, before he turned back to the table and motioned for them all to come closer. Santana held in her breath. "While Finn is my brother, I feel it is my duty to tell you this, mostly because you are all my friends, and I want good things for _New Directions_."

"Spit it out, Beyoncé!" Quinn snapped.

"Rachel didn't break up with Finn, Finn broke up wit her." Kurt quickly said, and watched in delight as the entire situation settled in on their faces. "Rachel's been trying to get him to forgive her for her... slight indiscretion." Santana didn't miss the way Kurt's eyes – for a second – drifted to Puck, who was still not participating, "She wasn't really angry at Finn for sleeping with Santana, she was more angry because he lied to her."

Mercedes gave him a look. "Did Finn tell you all of this?"

Kurt shook his head. "No. Rachel did. We've been... quite close lately. She helped me with my audition for Glee Club, and we've established a daily communication."

Blaine nodded in agreement. "I met her. I don't see why you're all so mean to her all the time. She seems pretty great to me."

Santana wanted to tell him to stay the fuck out of the conversation since he had no idea what went down, but she couldn't really get herself to do it, since she actually... sort of... agreed with him a little bit. Don't get her wrong, last year? She couldn't stand Rachel Berry. She hated her and the fact that she had to spend all those afternoons with her. But this year... Berry had been better. More calm. Especially lately, but Santana was starting to think that maybe that was for an entirely different reason all together.

"So what did Rachel do?" Mike questioned then.

"Despite dress horribly?" Sam added.

Kurt's eyes flickered to Puck once more, and suddenly everything seemed to make sense to Santana. Why Finn seemed to be so pissed at Puck all the time, and why Rachel was so quiet and yearned for forgiveness. The patterns matched the ones from last year to perfection, and Santana knew that – despite being such a good girl – Rachel sometimes made very bad choices. Like sending Sunshine to a crack house, this was something she'd do too. And it would hurt Finn, like seriously devastate him. However, Santana didn't want this to come out to everyone in the club – Puck may make some stupid choices, but he didn't deserve to go through this again.

"You're not telling them, Kurt!" she snapped, which made everyone turn to look at her. "_You're not_."

Something interesting passed Kurt's eyes as the two of them stared at each other for about thirty seconds. Santana knew that Kurt was tough, but no one matched her stare. She'd make sure he didn't talk about this, mostly because she was slightly involved in this, and hadn't she wanted to hurt Rachel so badly, her and Finn would have still been the Glee Club's power couple. Eventually, Kurt seemed to realise that he couldn't wear her down.

He lowered his head, "It's all the same, I... don't know all the details."

"That's right, you don't." Santana spat, before she pushed her chair back, "I'm going to get the ice cream. People will be arriving soon, and Berry and Hudson need to get the fuck out of my kitchen." she finished, before strutting off. She pushed the door to the kitchen open with a shove, and the two people inside turned to look at, caught on each a side of the counter.

"Santana!" Rachel piped. Her eyes were slightly red, but at least her make up wasn't ruined.

The Latina surveyed the scene for a few seconds, before she ripped the freezer open and trust the ice cream into Finn's arms. "Go, get the others to eat. We'll be right there."

She didn't know what persuaded her into getting Finn out of the kitchen, and why she thought it was appropriate to be alone with Rachel all of a sudden (had they ever been alone before?), but she knew she had to get to the bottom of things, and Rachel was probably the person to go to. She was brutally honest, and she wasn't shy about admitting her own mistakes when pressured just a little bit.

Santana took the position Finn had just been in and stared at Rachel, as the girl furiously wiped her cheeks off. They were silent, and she could hear the sounds of the others inside the dining room, as they were once more back to partying, completely oblivious to the entire story behind the mess. It was better that way, anyway. At least for a little while, at least until Rachel and Finn were either back together or completely over each other.

"So you cheated on Finn with Puck, huh?" Santana blurted out, and Rachel's eyes immediately snapped to meet hers, worry and hurt floating just there in those deep brown pools that always mirrored whatever it was that Rachel was feeling. "Don't worry," Santana added, "the others don't know. I figured it out."

Rachel heaved in a deep breath and took a seat on a barstool. "Oh."

Santana had never tried being nice to the shorter girl before, but she found that perhaps it wasn't as hard as she'd thought it would be. Plus, she almost didn't dare think this, they might have more in common that she'd first assumed. Rachel was badass – beneath all that argyle and knee socks, she really was – and Santana was badass too, just more upfront about it. Also, she was feeling rather alone lately, after Brittany was spending more and more time with Artie, and Puck was good for a fuck, but nothing else, and Santana knew that feeling lonely – it was something the diva was familiar with.

"I don't know why I did it." Rachel whispered, her gaze lingering on the wooden counter. "No wait, I know why I did it. I was angry with Finn, for lying to me, for making a fool out of me." she looked up then, her eyes settling deeply into Santana's, "All my life, people have made a fool out of me. He was supposed to care and make sure that those things didn't happen anymore, yet he still went ahead and did it himself."

Santana swallowed loudly. "I told him to tell you, you know." she heard herself say, before she was even aware that she was talking. "At the wedding, I saw how much he loved you, how much he really believed those words he sang in that song – he really did think he was gonna marry you, Rachel – and I told him he had to come straight. Especially when I found out that you didn't sleep with Jesse St. Douche bag."

This emitted a tiny giggle from Rachel's lips.

Santana continued, sort of proud of herself for that one. "These things mean a lot to girls like you, Berry, so I told him to come clean, but he didn't want to."

Rachel traced a finger across a line in the counter. "So instead you decided to drop the bomb on me in front of everybody? Do you have any idea how much that hurt?"

Santana did feel guilty about that. Now, she did. But when she'd said it, she seriously just wanted to hurt the girl who was now sitting in front of her, crying. "I did it to hurt you. What you said about me and Puck-"

"-was mean." Rachel agreed, nodding her head slightly. "I don't know why I said that. I shouldn't have. Who am I to judge whether or not you and Puck date or just get naked?"

"Ever since that afternoon, you just annoyed me more than usual." Santana continued, honestly. If they were going to talk about this, they might as well talk all the way. "So when you were bitching about the solo and the duet for Sectionals, I just snapped."

Rachel reached a hand across the counter, and before Santana had the time to move hers, Rachel had grabbed it tightly. "I'm sorry. You were good." she whispered, "You were_ so _good. Of course you lack my years of training and vocal exercises, and your pitch is sometimes a little off, but you were_ really_ good."

Santana knew that Rachel wouldn't tell her this if she didn't mean it. Which just made her feel even worse about the situation they were somehow in at the moment. "Thank you."

"When Finn came to me, asking if we were okay, I told him yes." Rachel said then, "After Sectionals... But before I could really resume a loving and trusting relationship with him, I had to inform him of what transpired between me and Noah."

Santana shook her head then, seriously wondering what was up with that girl. Finn had kept a secret from her for months, and she was willing to go and blurt hers out like that? No wonder all her relationships got screwed up in the end. "Why would you do that? Be with Puck? You know that of all the guys you could have been with... Puck would hurt the most."

Rachel nodded her head. "That may have crossed my mind, but honestly?"

"Honestly would be good."

"Honestly I just really wanted it to be Noah..." Rachel trailed off, wetting her lips with her tongue, and Santana was momentarily distracted by the sight of it. "Ever since we dated last year, we've been growing close. He's the only one in Glee Club besides Finn who really wants me around. Now Finn doesn't even want me around, and though I'm close with Kurt now, it's not really helpful since he's now at another school."

Santana knew that they didn't always treat the diva in the most gentle way. Heck, even Mr. Schuester often mistreated her, completely abusing his power as an authority figure, and blatantly ignoring the bullying and harassment that went on right in front of him. But the Latina had always thought that Rachel knew that they wanted her around. Glee just wouldn't be the same without her. "Hey, hey," Santana said, and was for a second surprised by the kindness in her own voice, "we do want you around, Berry, you have no idea how much."

A small smile found its way onto Rachel's face and Santana felt a weird sense of pride with herself for putting it there. This didn't mean that they were friends or anything though. As soon as they left the kitchen, she'd go right back to hating the tiny diva, but for a second it felt real good to actually be with someone and feel like she meant something to that person. She used to feel like that with Brittany all the time, but now the blonde had that with someone else.

Santana pushed herself away from the counter then, "Let's go eat some of Tina's mum's ice cream, shall we?"

Rachel hopped off the barstool and went around the counter. "I highly doubt that Tina took into account that I don't eat dairy. I didn't expect her to make something special for me, but-"

"No worries," Santana replied and pulled her freezer open with a tiny smirk, "when Tina told me she'd be bringing ice cream, I went to the store and got this for you."

Rachel's face lit up completely as she saw the small carton of soy milk ice cream in Santana's hand. "Santana! That's so sweet of you." she exclaimed and grabbed the carton, before hungrily turning it over to look at it.

Santana brushed her off. "Don't mention it," she said, and with an afterthought add, "_seriously_, don't mention it."

Rachel seemed to get what she was trying to say, so she nodded awkwardly and gave the Latina a short hug, before she bounced into the living room, Santana following right behind her.

_Huh, _the cheerleader mused as she reclaimed her seat between Quinn and Matt, _that was the weirdest thing I've ever been a part of_.

But she had to admit though – that maybe Rachel Berry wasn't half bad.

* * *

_So yes. This is my new story! This idea have been teasing me forever, and I was seriously about to go insane, so I just wanted to get the first chapter out before I lost my mind. It's my first Pezberry fiction for Glee, also my first multi-chaptered fiction for Glee, and I hope you'll enjoy it! _

_In case you haven't noticed, the title and the chapter title is from RENT's "Take Me Or Leave Me". I have a very unhealthy obsession with that musical, and that song scream Pezberry to me everytime I listen to it (which is at least a couple of times a day!). _

_I don't expect this fiction to be very long, but since I had to cut the first chapter in half (the party was supposed to happen in this chapter, too), I'm guessing that'll probably happen more than once, since my fingers tend to have a mind of their own when I write. _

_Please leave me your thoughts on the chapter and on my characterisations of Rachel and Santana. I definitely found the latter more difficult to write, since it's my first time writing her, and she just needs more depth than they give her on the show! _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or "Take Me Or Leave Me". _


	2. Baby, Let's Have Fun!

**Chapter Two**

**Baby, Let's Have Fun! **

More people had shown up to that damn party than Santana had thought.

Her entire house was filled with drunk teenagers, since the weather didn't allow them to step outside. Music was blasting from the speakers that Puck had attached to her laptop, and she was pretty sure she'd have to do a thorough cleaning of the entire ground floor, before her parents came back tomorrow evening. The heavy smoke of cigarettes, and the disgusting smell of every possible form of alcohol mixed together, made her want to gag, and she just wasn't having a very good time. Even though parties like these were usually her scene.

She just couldn't help but _stare._

Even though she tried with all her might to pull her eyes away from the ditzy blonde in the tiny shorts and sparkly top, Santana simply couldn't. Brittany was looking especially gorgeous tonight (though Santana always found her gorgeous). It was nice to see her hair down to its full length, without the ponytail they had to spot during school hours. Santana rarely saw Brittany in anything but her Cheerios outfit lately – just a few months back, she would have often seen the other girl in something else, if not without anything on entirely. Santana just missed the way that her and Brittany would lie together and just talk about nothing at all.

Brittany usually talked about nothing, which was a quality Santana adored beyond any other. It was just so weird not to have those moments with the other girl anymore. Even though they'd resumed their friendship after Brittany slept with Artie, and Santana in a jealous fit lashed out at them, it just never was the same. Even if Brittany pretended that everything was fine (maybe she thought it was. Santana had to admit that Brittany could be rather... slow), Santana just couldn't pretend. Not when she felt like she had no one to talk to, and had to watch Brittany with Artie all day long.

Which was exactly what she was doing now, also. Artie was slightly buzzed, Santana could tell, because he had troubles wheeling Brittany around the packed house without rolling over any toes, but the blonde didn't seem to mind. In fact, she was all smiles and giggles when they rolled across the floor to join Tina, Mike and Puck, who were huddled together by the sofa section, with plenty of bottles and snacks on the table in front of them.

It hurt _so bad_. Santana had been scared to admit that when Artie and Brittany had first gotten together, but now... now she just wanted to turn back time and be brave enough to leap into it with Brittany, because she was certain that being with the blonde and really having her, would be okay, even if Karofsky and Azimio would give them a hard time.

Santana shook her head to herself and downed the rest of her wine cooler. Smacking the bottle to the floor next to her, she told herself to snap out of it. Sure, what she and Brittany had had been wonderful. She was her first in so many ways. But did she really want to be exclusive with her? Santana didn't think she did. If she'd wanted that, she would have grabbed it when she could. No, the Latina thought that the only reason she was shooting daggers in Artie's direction was because she was mad that she didn't have anyone, when Brittany did. It wasn't like she didn't have the opportunity either. There was Puck, her and Puck had always been great in bed together. But it wasn't the same as with Brittany. It lacked the intimacy, the careful touches... Puck wasn't female, and Santana had to admit, that even though she'd probably never swear off dick for real, she most definitely preferred a woman's soft touch compared to Puck's rough hands.

She loved the way a woman's curves fit beneath her fingers when she trailed them down her body. She loved to tangle her hands in long wild strands of hair, instead of feeling Puck's mix of scalp and Mohawk She even preferred the way a woman smelled, and the way a woman kissed. A woman's lips were so much softer, more gentle when they meshed with her own.

Santana closed her eyes and groaned to herself. She couldn't figure out what the hell it was that she wanted. She'd turned Brittany down because she didn't want to give up sex with Puck, but now she was starting to think that maybe giving up on Puck wouldn't be such a huge disaster after all. What was the matter with her? Did she want Brittany, or did she not want her?

This was all so god-damned frustrating!

She felt the wall bump next to her, and without even opening her eyes, she had a pretty good feeling who'd just joined her on the floor. Turning her head to the side, she saw Rachel sitting there, a wine cooler in each hand and a smile on her face. "What makes you think that it's okay for you to sit down next to me?" Santana heard herself grumble, as she grabbed one of the bottles from the diva's hand and rested it against her legs.

Rachel blatantly ignored her question, and glanced forward, her eyes settling on something in the other end of the room. "You really miss her, don't you?" she whispered then.

Santana heard herself swallow loudly, but refused to answer the other girl. She was not about to have another heart-to-heart with her!

"I see the way you look at her." Rachel continued, as always oblivious to the fact that it would be more appreciated if she shut the hell up. "You look at her, and I look at Finn. It's quite ridiculous, really. I know you and her were close, closer than friends." she turned her head to meet Santana's eyes then, questions floating in her brown pools, "What happened between the two of you?"

Santana refused to acknowledge the fact that she and Rachel Berry even had the tiniest of things in common, and shrugged her shoulders. "B wanted to be exclusive. I didn't."

Rachel bit her lip. "Because of Puck?"

Again, Santana shrugged. "I thought it was because of Puck, but that doesn't even matter anymore."

"You care about her." Rachel said then, her eyes flickering with realisation and wonder. "I've seen it. You care about her in a way that you don't care about anyone else. And you let her in, inside..." she pressed a tiny hand to Santana's chest, and the Latina felt her breath hitch for more reasons than one, "You don't let many people in, do you, Santana? Not even Quinn."

This was so far out of Santana's comfort zone, but she had no idea how to pull away. The singer was obviously buzzed as well, because she was acting as if talking this way to her wasn't something everyone avoided on a daily basis. No one ever dared to ask her how she felt or why she did the things she did. Only Brittany ever knew, and she didn't even have to ask – she just _knew_.

Dropping her hand from Santana's chest, Rachel sipped her wine cooler. "Brittany wanted to be with you, didn't she? I could see that she loved you in the way she looked at you. She now looks at Artie that way."

Santana was now starting to get seriously pissed off with the tiny girl. Who was she to come here and try to talk to her about things she'd really rather not discuss? Who was she to make her think about things that hurt so badly, because she was afraid of really dealing with them? That was so not cool! But somewhere in Santana's drunken state of mind... she really just wanted to tell Rachel everything. Because she could relate, Santana knew she could.

"You want things too much, don't you? It's a feeling I know quite well."

"Shut up!" Santana whispered, placing a hand on Rachel's bare knee and squeezing it tightly. "Shut the fuck up, Berry. You're not my shrink."

Rachel didn't even blink. "I hope you know that you can talk to me, Santana."

The Latina didn't reply. Instead she raised the bottle to her lips and took another long sip. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rachel doing the same, but instead of focusing on the smaller brunette, she let her eyes wander to the small group of Gleeks who had gathered around the coffee table and was playing some sort of drinking game. Quinn was laughing at something Kurt had just said, and Sam was almost choking on a chip.

Again, she found her eyes settling on Brittany and Artie, and she felt her heart break just a tiny bit more, when she caught them in a tender moment; Brittany's arms around Artie's neck, and their lips were joined in a brief, but loving kiss.

"It wasn't really because of Puck," Santana heard herself mutter, before she had the chance to stop it. Her fingers were playing with the label on the bottle, her eyes solely focused on that. "it was more because... I didn't want to be another teenage lesbian. This town is so small-minded, I mean, I see how they treat Kurt on a daily basis."

Rachel nodded, and Santana knew that the diva knew what she was talking about. There were only three out people in Lima, one of them was their friend, and the other two were Rachel's fathers. "I know." she whispered, "I've been a part of that since I was born."

Santana had heard the nicknames on the playground when she was little, the other kids making fun of Rachel because she had two fathers. When they got older, the names got worse and they started calling her 'fag's spawn' and 'devil's child' – it was a wonder Rachel even managed to get up and go to school everyday.

"So are you gay?"

Rachel's question caught Santana completely off guard, and the cheerleader just stared at the other girl for a few seconds, as the idea settled in her mind completely. Was she gay? Santana actually didn't know. Honestly she'd never thought of herself as anything, just a very sexual person who didn't care whether her partner was male or female. Did that make her bi-sexual? Santana swallowed loudly. "I don't know." she hoarsely replied. "What's it to you anyway?"

Rachel didn't even flinch when Santana hissed out the last part, but let her legs fall to the floor instead, so they were spread out in front of her. "I've always been so proud of my fathers," she said, completely out of nowhere, "for being brave enough to raise their daughter in a town like Lima. It would have been so easy to move to New York and settle there, or in some other big city, where families like ours are more common. But they wanted to raise me where they grew up."

Santana didn't know what to say to that, so instead she mirrored Rachel's position and said nothing.

"They've given me courage to be exactly who I am. That's why I don't listen when people try to get me down for the way I dress or the way I act. They've shown me that it's OK to be yourself – no matter who you are."

The Latina was beginning to see where Rachel was going with this story, and she didn't much enjoy the fact that the tiny diva was trying to tell her to embrace herself and not be afraid. It was easier said than fucking done! So instead she growled at the smaller girl and hissed, "Well, fat good that did to you, considering the fact that you dress like a toddler and grandmother at the same time!"

If Rachel was bothered by the sudden hostility in her voice, she didn't show it. "Like I said, I am who I am." she lightly whispered, "Plus, people seem to be enjoying my skirts. They show off a good amount of leg."

Santana had noticed that. Not that she spent much time staring at the diva's legs in Glee or anything, she'd just noticed it. "That they do, Berry."

Rachel turned her head to meet her eyes again. "My fathers taught me that it's okay to love who you love. They even encouraged me to dabble between sexes, just to make sure that I got the entire teenage experience and never missed out on life."

Santana snorted. That was such a Berry thing to do. Of course Rachel's fathers couldn't be as dramatic and annoying as the diva, because that would make for one interesting household, but telling their daughter to openly experiment with both boys and girls? That was something Santana could picture Rachel telling her own kids too, afraid that they were – uhm, how did she put it? - _missing out_ on life.

"So I dabbled."

The taller brunette almost choked on the sip she'd just taken of her wine cooler, and turned to the other girl with wide eyes. What the _fuck _did Berry just say? Did she just say that she-? No frigging way! Berry was a carpet-muncher too? How could Santana _not _have known that?

Rachel giggled and slowly reached a hand out to wipe the tiny bit of liquor off that Santana had managed to spill down her chin.

Santana pushed her hand away. "Have you-?" _And here I thought you were a fucking virgin, Berry. I guess you haven't told Hudson everything, huh? _

Rachel took in a deep breath and turned her body over slightly, so she was pressed closer to Santana's side. "It was silly, really." she begun, "I mean, it happened in the end of my freshman year. We took ballet together. She's a year younger than me."

Santana figured that she didn't need to say anything, so she just nodded.

"I was so into her, you have no idea. And she liked me too, I guess, because we started spending a lot of time together..." Rachel trailed off, her eyes unfocused, even as she tried to lock them with Santana's, and the Latina realised that the diva hadn't been drinking just a wine cooler or two... she was fucking drunk, and it had all happened right beneath Santana's nose. Why the singer had decided to suddenly engage in some normalcy when she'd told them all during dinner that she'd be drinking water all night, Santana didn't know. But she was quite amused by it. "And we started making out."

Santana raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "So what happened then?"

Rachel leaned in closer and for one very weird second, Santana almost feared that she would be pressing their lips together, but the diva's mouth ended near her ear instead, as she whispered, "It was Amanda Adams."

Santana swore right then and there, that her heart almost jumped out of her throat. She pulled away from the other girl quickly, and stared at her with completely wide eyes – just to make sure that she wasn't joking. But Berry was fucking serious. The look on Santana's face told her that the singer really had had the guts to make out with Azimio Adams' little sister, and that things had not ended well. "No. Fucking. Way." she breathed. "Shit Berry, could you have chosen someone with a more idiotic brother?"

Rachel giggled a little as she shook her head, her tiny bangs falling out of place. "He walked in on us in her bedroom. It wasn't pretty. He told their parents." she whispered, leaning her head backwards to rest it against the wall, and Santana found herself completely amused, though also slightly enthralled with this new side of Rachel Berry. "Amanda and I had been so excited, she was supposed to start her freshman year at McKinley when I started my junior. But... but their parents sent her to Carmel instead. Pulled her out of ballet class too."

"And Azimio has hated your guts every since, am I correct?" Santana questioned her, while her eyes sought out the room, searching wildly for the giant frame of the stupid football player. She knew he was around here somewhere, because she'd seen him make advances at more than one unsuspecting girl throughout the night.

Rachel nodded her head and brushed a piece of her hair back. "He was the first one to slushie me. Believe it or not, I had managed to stay clear of those during my freshman year, but as soon as I entered school last year, there he was, throwing slushies at me. I've been receiving them ever since."

"Prick." Santana spat and shook her head with disgust.

Rachel nodded in agreement, and a sort of _comfortable_ silence erupted between the two girls, as they were leaning against the wall, their shoulders pressed together, and with each a bottle to their lips. Santana had no idea how her night turned out to be all about Rachel Berry, but she actually found out that it wasn't so bad. She'd probably think differently tomorrow, when she was sober, but right now, everything made perfectly sense to her. Even the fact that she actually found Berry sort of... interesting. At least she wasn't just that boring good-two-shoes, Straight A student, she always pretended to be. Though maybe she was just letting lose because of the alcohol.

Santana gulped when she realised that she'd finished the last of her drink. "Well, fuck me." she muttered, and turned to find that Rachel was just about done with hers too. "What do you say, Berry? Haven't we been pussies enough for one evening with all this talk about feelings and shit?"

Rachel placed her bottle to the floor and blinked rapidly. "It's important to be able to discuss your emotions, Santana. I think this conversation has been rather productive for both of us. I have come to the realisation that perhaps I should stop trying to pursue Finn when he obviously doesn't want me to."

Okay, so that came out of fucking nowhere, but it probably made sense to the small girl, so Santana was going to let it slide.

"And you," Rachel said, patting a hand to Santana's thigh, "you need to stop thinking so much about Brittany. There are other girls out there for you!"

Santana was now officially done with this conversation. She was not going to talk about Brittany again with the other girl, and she'd feel much better if she got up and started dancing to exercise some of that alcohol out of her system. Pulling herself onto her feet (with a little difficulty), she extended a hand to the other brunette. "Berry, we're done talking. It's time to start dancing." she finished, and pulled at the other girl.

However Rachel happened to be absolutely tiny, so she smacked straight into her chest. "You wanna dance with me?" she questioned, huffing out air, as she looked up at Santana beneath those freakishly long eyelashes.

"Shit Berry, you're annoying as hell, but you know how to dance, okay?" Santana replied calmly, before pushing herself away from Rachel. "I mean, during our mash-up, the way you were wriggling your ass on all fours … it was kinda hot."

Rachel actually blushed a deep red at the comment, but Santana decided to ignore it completely, for she grabbed her hand and pulled her with her onto the small makeshift dance floor, where only a couple of Cheerios and football players were grinding against each other. So far, her night had been a total bummer, but she was ready to have some fun now – even if it was with Rachel Berry. She wound her arms around Rachel's lower backside and pulled the other girl closer, before softly grinding her hips.

One of those lame party tunes were playing loudly, and Rachel started lowly singing along, as her hips met Santana's, following the steady beat of the bass. The Latina let her hands travel down the diva's side as she wiggled all the way down to the floor, before shooting straight up again. Rachel's arms were behind her head as she pushed it from side to side, and Santana moved in behind her, letting her hands travel to the other girl's stomach, as Rachel's butt continuously rubbed against her centre, that was only covered by the sheer layer of fabric that her skimpy party dress consisted of.

Santana lost count of how long they danced together, how many songs had blasted through the speakers, but she just knew that she was enjoying herself immensely, and the feeling of letting go and not caring about the fact that it was _Rachel Berry_ dancing there with her, felt better than anything. At least she wasn't slumped against the wall somewhere, wallowing in self-pity because Brittany was too busy with Artie, and Quinn couldn't tear herself away from Sam.

She barely noticed the strange looks that people were throwing in their direction. Mainly some of the Cheerios thought that she'd completely lost her mind, but Santana ignored them and focused entirely on the shorter brunette who was singing along softly in that amazing voice of hers. She couldn't ignore Puck's blatant ogling though, as the boy both she and Rachel had dated, watched the two girls dance together. She knew that this was turning him on, because she was hot, and Puck had a thing for Rachel for some reason. It was nice to tease him that way, too.

The buzz from her countless of wine coolers was wearing off though, and she was feeling rather sweaty and gross, so when another song came to an end, she grabbed Rachel by the arm and pulled her through the mass of bodies in the living room and into the kitchen. It was just as cramped, but it was where she needed to be. She needed another drink, preferably something stronger than a wine cooler at this point, because the night was still young and plenty of things could happen.

"We need shots, Berry." Santana demanded as she searched through the bottles on the counter for her favourite kind. If Rachel though that it was weird how Santana had suddenly latched onto her for the evening, she didn't show it, she simply followed. _Well, _Santana mused to herself as she poured the liquorice shot into two tiny plastic cups, _that's because she's desperate and lonely too. _Why else would there be any reason for the two of them to be together? That's right. There _wasn't_.

Rachel downed her shot without wincing and turned to the Latina. "I'm famished. Would it be proper etiquette if I were to gather some of my leftover vegan meat balls from your fridge ?"

Santana just stared at the other girl and motioned for the fridge. She wouldn't be surprised if some of their leftovers were already eaten by some of their classmates. "Why do you insist on talking like that?" she questioned instead. She'd never actually thought much about the fact that Rachel spoke like she swallowed a thesaurus, she'd just always found it to be another annoying trait, but now that she'd heard Rachel talk like a normal human being, she couldn't help but wonder why on earth she didn't do so normally.

Rachel turned around to look at her, a meat ball in each hand. "What do you refer to, Santana?"

Santana's eyes were focused on the meat ball that Rachel currently wasn't biting into, and came to realise that she was quite hungry herself. Tearing her eyes away from the food, she said, "Well, you talk like you're eighty years old or something. We actually just shared a conversation that was pleasant, and you talked like a normal teenager."

"There's nothing wrong with being articulate." Rachel kindly informed her, before she started licking her fingers off.

In a moment of plain curiosity and complete hunger, Santana grabbed the other vegan meat ball out of Rachel's hand and bit into it, before replying, "Yes there is. People understand shit of what you're trying to say." she paused and had to swallow, before she realised that this was actually quite tasty, "Damn it, Berry, this shit is good!" she hissed, before stuffing the rest of it into her mouth.

Rachel turned to the counter again, to refill their shot glasses. "You understand perfectly what I'm saying, Santana, it's plain laziness when people pretend not to understand what I say. It's just because they have to use a few more braincells, and it's an unfamiliar concept to them." she turned around, handing a glass to Santana, "You didn't strike me as another stupid cheerleader, though."

"I'm not stupid." Santana bit back, before she downed her glass and turned to mix two drinks that they could both carry into the living room again. She quickly mixed one of her favourite drinks, simply and easily, thankful that Rachel hadn't decided to go into a speech about her impressive vocabulary and that she was staying silent for now. Turning around, she trust the drink into the diva's hand and marched out of the kitchen, Rachel hot on her tail.

It was only around twelve o'clock, but the place had thinned out a little, since most people had curfews and others had things to attend the next morning, since it was in fact, still the holidays. There was still a lot of people around though, and Santana wondered what her and Berry could do next, but was pulled out of those thoughts though, when Puck waved them over.

She stopped behind the back of the couch, and took a look at the people in the circle; Puck, Mike, Tina, Kurt, Blaine, Artie, Brittany, Quinn and Sam were all gathered there, obviously very drunk, since they'd been playing nothing but drinking games all evening.

Puck grabbed her arm and forcefully pulled her forward. "That was some hot show you two girls put on for us on that dance floor." he smirked, his eyes moving from Santana's to Rachel's.

"We were merely having fun, Noah." Rachel replied, awkwardly sipping her drink.

Puck's eyes glistened playfully, "Well, why don't you both take a seat and join us? We just played _Spin the Bottle_, but we're gonna go real classic now with a game of _Truth or Dare_."

Santana thought that perhaps it would be nice to engage in some sort of activity with the others, so she grabbed Rachel by the arm and pulled her around the circle. She pushed Rachel onto a spare pillow next to Tina on the floor, and grabbed a chair between Quinn and Puck. She tried not to look at Brittany, who was still perched on top of Artie's lap.

The game started real slow with the usual lame questions and dares, and every minute the timer on Mike's cell phone would ring, and whoever was involved in a truth or a dare would have to drink. That was the way they always played it, since technically, it wasn't a drinking game, and no one would stay drunk if they just talked all night. It got more interesting though, when Santana realised just how hammered most people around this table were. Even Tina seemed to be drunk, because she was seriously slurring her words together.

"Santana!" Quinn suddenly barked, after she was dared to to take off her top, but had firmly declined, "Truth or dare?"

Santana cocked an eyebrow in amusement. She wasn't quite drunk enough for 'dare' yet. "Truth."

Quinn's smile grew vicious as she pointed to Rachel, "What's going on with you and RuPaul tonight? You've been hanging all over each other."

Santana locked her eyes with Rachel's for a brief second. "Nothing's going on with me and Berry, Q, we were just dancing. You know I can't stand her." she finished, but she knew that Rachel didn't believe her one bit, because a tiny smile was on her lips.

Quinn seemed satisfied with that answer though, and Santana continued to dare Mike to dance around in only his underwear for three minutes, before he managed to coax a number out of Puck, regarding how many cougars he'd nailed. After that, Puck's eyes settled on Rachel, who had – so far – managed to stay out of the game.

"Rach," he mumbled, "truth or dare?"

Rachel's eyes flickered for a second, before she firmly said, "Dare."

Puck had obviously not thought she was going to pick 'dare', but a mischievous smile found its way onto his face, as he looked around the circle, seemingly pondering things over for a bit. Then a smile lit up his face, and he said, "I want you to do a tequila shot off of Brittany... 's stomach. _Brittany's stomach_."

Rachel's chocolate orbs went completely wide with surprise, and while Santana found herself absolutely disgusted by the idea, the guys around the table seemed to think that it was the most brilliant thing they'd ever heard. Even Brittany seemed to like the suggestion, though Santana had no idea why.

While Tina got off of the floor to gather everything they needed, Brittany squirmed her way out of Artie's lap and readied herself on the floor, by pulling up her top. "This is going to be so much fun. I've always wondered what your lips are like, Rachel, they look so full and kissable. Are you going to take the lime out of my mouth?"

Santana felt her hand squeeze the glass she was holding with much strength as she breathed out sharply. This was so not something she wanted to witness, even if she had no idea why. The thought just made her feel very uncomfortable.

Tina returned with everything they needed, and Rachel seemed to know exactly what she was doing, as she handed Brittany the lemon, before sucking on her stomach gently, which made the blonde squirm beneath her. Then the brunette sprinkled some salt onto the other girl, and though Santana was uncomfortable, she found herself leaning over to see more. Holding the shot in one hand, Rachel leaned over the blonde cheerleader, quickly licked the salt off, downed the shot and reached forward to grab the lime out of Brittany's mouth. However, the ditzy blonde girl had another idea all together, so when Rachel moved to pull back, she grabbed on harder to the back of the brunette's neck, and continued to kiss her for another ten seconds or so, the lime still somewhere in either of their mouths.

Brittany was giggling madly when she pulled back, and before she reclaimed her seat on Artie's lap, she spit out the slice of lime to the table. "That was fun!" she laughed, before kissing her boyfriend repeatedly on the lips.

"Yeah," Quinn added with a look of disgust, "you just sucked face with Man Hands." she then turned to Rachel with another look, "And you, Stubbles, I didn't know you were into girls, but I guess I should have figured that. You might savour the kiss though, it's probably the only one you'll get for awhile now that Finn dumped you."

Rachel didn't even bother to comment or defend herself, but Santana did. She didn't know where it came from, if it was because of Quinn's name-calling or the fact that Rachel had just kissed Brittany, but she felt like something needed to be said. "You don't know anything, Q, so back the fuck off." the Latina spat.

Quinn's eyes turned to hers then, her features pulled back in a sneer. "What? You defending her now, S?"

Santana shrugged her shoulders. "I'm just saying you don't know the entire story. Not about Berry and Frankenteen, and not about Berry and any girls."

"There's been girls?" Puck questioned, now suddenly looking at Rachel with renewed interest.

Rachel's eyes lingered on the table for a little while, before she shrugged her shoulders. "There might've been... a girl. It was nothing really."

Santana snorted. "It was _so _something. Now, tell them Berry." she continued, lashing out for no reason at all, other than the fact that she seemed to be incredibly annoyed that the other girl had done what she had done (why though, _why_?). "Might as well tell them all about it."

Rachel shook her head, and turned to Kurt, questioning him whether or not he wanted 'truth' or 'dare'. Santana just watched as the diva presented him with a lame dare, and couldn't explain why her blood was boiling beneath the surface right now. It was like usually, when the singer was involved. She always made the Latina so damn annoyed, no matter what she did, it was infuriating! She shouldn't care whether or not Rachel told them about Amanda Adams or about why Finn _really_ broke up with her. But for some fucking reason, it annoyed the shit out of her, and Santana _hated_ that.

They continued to play _I Have Never_, but Santana didn't find herself as into the game as she usually would. She found her eyes lingering more and more on Rachel, and she had no fucking idea why. But she was just quite relieved that she wasn't watching Brittany anymore, because that just made her want to gag. So when Rachel pulled out her cell phone and announced that her fathers were on their way, Santana got up to follow the tiny diva outside, after she'd placed a kiss to Puck's cheek and hugged Kurt goodbye.

Once outside in the hallway, Santana pushed Rachel up against the wall. "You need to grow a fucking backbone, Berry. You should tell them what really went down with you and Finn."

Rachel blinked up at her, apparently completely surprised with the situation she so suddenly found herself in. "There is no point, Santana. People hated me when it was Finn who lied, how do you think they'll view me if they found out I cheated? There's not point whatsoever. They still wish I wasn't in Glee."

"I want you in Glee." Santana firmly told her, vaguely remembering that they _might have_ had this conversation earlier on in the evening, before they both got wasted.

The diva smiled up at her and sighed heavily. "Thank you, Santana. For that and for today. I didn't really want to come, I thought I'd just be by myself in a corner since everybody dislikes me so much. My Prius wasn't actually caught in the snow. I left late, because I'd decided not to come, but then I changed my mind."

Santana just blinked a few times as she took in everything the other girl had just told her. And for a second, it seemed like everything stood still for her, because then she realised – then she _realised_ that Rachel had absolutely saved her evening, too. That hadn't it been for her, she would have been popped up against the wall all night, sulking. And the weirdest part of it was, she'd actually had _fun_.

She'd had fun with Rachel Berry.

A horn was honked right outside, and Rachel breathed out again. "That's my fathers, I think Daddy will be driving my car home, while I carpool with Dad." she lightly explained, before she ducked beneath Santana's arm, gathered her giant pile of clothes into her arms and stuck her feet into her boots. "Well," she said, as she opened the front door, "bye, I guess."

The door smacked close behind her, and Santana stared at it for a few seconds, "Uhm. _Bye_." she said to no one, before she snapped herself out of it and turned to rejoin her party.

* * *

_I am walking a very thin line with Santana's feelings for Brittany. There has to have been some sort of deeper connection there for her to feel so torn up about it, but it also has to appear as if she's slightly over it now (it's been a few months), though not so over it that she particularly likes seeing Artie with Brittany. Plus, she has to be open to possibly letting another person inside.. Rachel-cough-Rachel. _

_Anyway! Thank you so much for the amazing support you gave me after the first chapter! I was so nervous about posting, but you guys were just awesome. I hope I'm not going to let anybody down with this story. Updates will not always be as fast as this one was, since I in fact do have another story that needs regular updates, too. But I will try to dabble equally between the two of them. :) _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or "Take Me Or Leave Me". _


	3. Who's in Your Bed?

**Chapter Three**

**Who's in Your Bed? **

She had no _fucking_ idea what she was doing there.

Like seriously. In one moment of complete insanity, she had decided that sure, it was a good idea to go visit Rachel Berry at ten o'clock in the morning. She had barely rolled out of bed and thrown on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, before she had convinced herself that she really wasn't in the mood to clean her house right now. So while she'd been eating the leftover ice cream Tina had left in her freezer, she'd been looking at the mess in the kitchen, but hadn't really thought too much about it.

Her thoughts had been on _someone else_ entirely. And she had no fucking idea why she was thinking about the tiny diva with the gorgeous legs. She just couldn't help it. After sleeping off the booze, the thought that she'd actually spent the entire evening with Rachel was ridiculous and it almost made her laugh out loud. But then she thought about what had actually happened, and was slightly mortified with the fact that even the day after, she was pretty sure she'd enjoyed herself.

So that was why she was staring at the Berrys' front door, huddling herself tightly in her warm winter coat. She didn't know what she wanted to say to Rachel, what she even expected out of this. She just really wanted to see her. A part of her wanted to warn the singer that she had to keep her mouth shut about everything they'd drunkenly discussed last night, but another part of her didn't really care, because she knew Rachel would keep this to herself. Even if Rachel usually had a big mouth, she knew she could trust her with this, because Rachel had said some things in return, and Santana was expected to keep them to herself as well.

The Latina had had to text Kurt when she decided to acknowledge the fact that she'd never once been to Berry's house. She'd wanted him to text her the address, but he'd flat out refused, and when she tried Finn, he'd been all mopey and thought she'd only go there to rub into Rachel's face that they slept together. Santana had to admit, that before last night, she would have probably considered that if she was very bored, but she hated the fact that none of them wanted to help her when she really just wanted the address to_ talk_ to her. Eventually she'd managed to convince Puck that she only wanted the address to return something Rachel left last night, and he'd actually been pleasant about it.

Convincing herself to knock though was the trickier thing. She had no idea how long she'd been staring at the door, but it was probably edging closer and closer to 'too long' than Santana wanted to admit, so she pulled herself together and pressed her frozen finger to the doorbell. She willed herself to keep her feet planted on the ground as she waited for the door to open. When it finally did, she came face to face with a tiny man, bearing glasses and a sweater vest.

"Hello?" he questioned with a confused smile across his face.

Santana took in a deep breath. This was something she'd never done before, and for one reason or another, she really wanted to make a good first impression on this man, even if she didn't know if she'd ever see him again. "Mr. Berry? Is – is... _Rachel_ here?" she almost choked out the diva's name, the syllables an unfamiliar feeling on her tongue.

His eyes scanned her face, before he pulled the door open wider and stepped aside. "Rachel's just in the kitchen. May I ask who's wanting to know?"

_Shit. _"Oh yeah. Of course." Santana shook her head to herself, and couldn't get over the fact that this man was watching her with such thoughtful eyes. "It's uhm.. It's Santana Lopez."

His face lit up with pure joy at that revelation. "Oh! You're the girl from Glee Club who had that Christmas party yesterday? I must say that we have never seen Rachel attempt to handle a hangover before. It's highly amusing."

Santana couldn't help but snort lightly at that thought, as she slipped off her boots and coat, before following the tiny man down the hall. He had to be even tinier than Rachel, which evidently said a lot. But it was sort of funny to see how much alike Rachel he seemed. No matter what Rachel said about not knowing who was her _real_ father – it had got to be this man. They were too similar in mannerisms, and Santana had only seen him for two minutes to notice this.

They stepped into a homey kitchen, and Santana's eyes landed on a tall, black man (okay, this made Santana believe even _more_ that the first Mr. Berry had to have fathered Rachel), before they settled on the girl in question, who was huddled up against the counter, her legs tugged beneath herself. She was wearing a large sweatshirt, and apparently nothing else but panties and fluffy socks, and she had her head in her hands, seemingly feeling very sorry for herself. Her eyes were closed, her hair was pulled back in a messy bun, and a steaming hot cup of coffee was sitting right in front of her.

"Sweetheart?" the tiny Mr. Berry questioned, placing a loving hand on Rachel's back, "You have company."

Rachel's head immediately shot to the side, and her eyes went absolutely wide when she found Santana standing in the doorway. The Latina offered a kind smile in Rachel's direction and said, "Hi Berry."

"Santana!" Rachel smiled. But Santana could tell that she wasn't sure whether or not she should be happy that she was standing there. Multiple conflicting emotions came across the diva's face, and Santana took a step closer. "What are you doing here?"

The black Mr. Berry scolded his daughter. "That's no way to greet a guest, Rachel Barbara!" he said, before turning, kindly, to Santana, "Please have a seat, Santana – was it? Would you like some coffee?"

Santana took a seat on the barstool next to Rachel and nodded at the older man. She'd never met many parents before, only Brittany's, and she wasn't quite sure how to handle them. She just knew that she had to be polite if there was any chance at coming back someday. Not that she knew if Rachel would ever want that, but it was nice to be sure. She wasn't even sure if she wanted it. Except – well, it was _sort of_ nice talking to Rachel last night, _kinda_. That was why she was here after all, wasn't it?

"You never had a hangover before, huh?" Santana asked Rachel with a cocked eyebrow.

Rachel shook her head slowly. "And now I know why it's stupid to drink. Why would anyone willingly put themselves through this again and again? My head hurts so bad!" she gushed, completely dramatic, as usual.

Santana chuckled and nodded briefly at the big Mr. Berry as he placed a cup of coffee in front of her. "Because it's fun while you're drinking. We had fun last night, didn't we?"

Rachel offered her a small smile, and Santana couldn't explain why, but she was happy to see that the girl had liked last night as well. "We sure did. Talked about some pretty serious things as well."

"I remember every word of it." Santana honestly told her, before sipping her coffee slowly. Man, coffee was _so good _for hangovers! "Good coffee." she mumbled then, earning a tiny chuckle from Rachel's big father.

Rachel took a long sip of her coffee too and moaned in delight at the taste. "So," she stated, placing her cup on the counter, "was there anything in particular you wanted?"

Santana wrinkled her nose. "Felt like shit and didn't really wanna clean the house right now. The 'rents won't be home until tonight, so I figured I'd spare you a few minutes."

Rachel raised an eyebrow, "Spare me a few minutes?"

"Well shit," Santana said and settled her hands in her lap, "you know what I mean." she added, not daring to look at the other girl. It wasn't like she knew what she was doing there. It's just that none of her so-called friends spared her a look last night, and what was up with that? Rachel had been there all evening, and maybe it wouldn't be so horrible to have someone to talk to about … things. Whatever things it is that one talk about. She hadn't really tried being honest with anyone before. And she had to admit, that it had felt kind of good last night. Maybe they could try it some more, and maybe Berry wouldn't be so horrible.

_I definitely learned some very interesting things last night, _Santana mentally added, letting her eyes linger a second on Rachel's taunt legs, the revelation of Berry's 'dabbling' still very clear in the Latina's mind. She had definitely not seen that one coming, but she had to admit that she was very intrigued. Hell, who wouldn't be? Anyone with eyes could tell that those nicknames didn't really fit Rachel and that she was hot as hell. Sure, some of those names were made up in the fifth grade where Rachel may or may not have been a little boyish, but she'd definitely outgrown that phase a long time ago.

Rachel wanted to argue her, Santana could tell she did, but instead the diva said something else. "Is your entire house a mess?"

"Pretty much." Santana replied with a short nod. "It's nothing I haven't tried before though. Usually Q and Britt help me clean up the mess, but they haven't exactly been perfect friends lately."

The singer laughed. "Yeah, you three sure know how to push each other away. I can't quite imagine how you've ever managed to be friends with each other. You're never there when it really matters."

Santana wanted to argue with her and tell her to shut the fuck up, but if she was being completely honest with herself, Rachel had their friendship down spot on. Sure, Brittany had been there more for Santana than Quinn had, but the Latina had wiped that friendship away with a flick of her hand when she refused to be exclusive with the blonde girl. She now lived with the consequences of that. Hopefully she'd be able to gain that friendship back with Brittany, since the other girl didn't seem to mind that much now that she had Artie. It was Santana who minded – but she wouldn't if she had someone else, too.

"You throw a lot of parties, Santana?" the tiny Mr. Berry asked. He and his husband were leaning against the kitchen cabinets, both drinking coffee as well. It was clear to Santana that they were keeping their daughter company in the midst of her hangover, probably only to amuse themselves.

The Latina nodded at the man. "Yeah. My parents don't mind if they're away. It's always a mess to clean up, though."

He nodded, and the other Mr. Berry continued, "Rachel's never been to a party before. We knew it was only a matter of time before she had the desire to go. Usually, she'd be well into her morning routines by now instead of moping around with a pounding head."

The diva glared at her father. "Well, Santana and I practically only drank wine coolers, but that's bad enough when you're only used to a glass of wine!"

"I wasn't making fun of you, Sweetheart." he said, but Santana could tell that he totally was.

So she decided to be on the other girl's side. "Hey, she was totally cool about it, Mr. Berry. She took a tequila shot and everything."

While Rachel seemed to groan at the memory, her fathers were rather intrigued with the story, Santana could tell. The tiny Mr. Berry lit up like Christmas tree, while the big one cocked an amused eyebrow, "Oh did she now?"

Santana nodded her head. "I have no fucking clue how she knew how to do it, though. You admitted it yourself, Berry, it was your first time drinking."

Rachel shot Santana a devilish smile and proudly said, "Well, as some of you may know, I take pride in being well prepared for everything, so when I learned that I was going to be attending a high school party, I decided to google everything I could find about drinking. I merely had to remember the three simple steps of proper tequila etiquette, before doing the shot off of Brittany's stomach."

The Latina glanced at the other girl with completely wide eyes, truly surprised that she had actually googled her way through it. And even more surprised that she was so blunt about doing the shot in front of her fathers. Sure, Santana was a blunt person, and her family knew that she drank and slept with people, but that didn't mean they were comfortable talking about it. Her mother much preferred to pretend she was still a good little girl who played with dolls.

"That's a thing you should know about Rachel," the black Mr. Berry informed Santana with a tiny laugh, "when she's in doubt about anything – she googles."

Rachel laughed too, "That's true, I do google a lot."

"And she makes lists too." the little Mr. Berry added with a smirk.

Rachel rolled her eyes at him, before turning back to Santana, "Did you want some help with the mess, though? I could just run upstairs and throw some clothes on and I'd be happy to give you a hand!"

Santana had to admit that that sounded pretty damn awesome. After all, the kitchen, the living room _and_ the bathroom really needed a thorough cleaning. Between the two of them, it would take an hour, two hours tops. "That'd be nice, Berry."

Rachel's face lit up in a smile, before she jumped off of the barstool and ran out of the kitchen, almost scurrying into the doorway as she rounded a corner, due to her fluffy socks. Santana bit back a chuckle and found Rachel's fathers laughing as well.

"I didn't know you were friends with Rachel." the tiny Mr. Berry casually stated, as he took a seat opposite the Latina. "We saw you at Sectionals. We attend all of Rachel's performances. You were quite good."

Santana felt herself smile. "Thank you. I'm not as good as Rachel, though, but thank you." she said. Under normal circumstances she would have been a total smart-ass about it, but she couldn't get herself to be that way with these two men. They probably knew all about her though, because she had a pretty good feeling that Rachel was very honest with her fathers and told them practically everything.

The black Mr. Berry smiled kindly at her as well. "It's been a while since Rachel had any female friends over, a few years actually. Lately she's just been hanging out with Kurt and Noah a lot. Thankfully that idiotic Finn boy's not an issue anymore."

Santana couldn't help the smile that broke out on her face then and there. They didn't like Finn either? Well, that was something at least! That boy had never deserved Rachel. Even when she hated the diva with all her being, she still didn't think he was worthy of her. He'd never treated her right, and she honestly did not understand why Rachel had always put up with it. Santana had always viewed has as a strong female – as strong as herself in those aspects.

"Nah, Finn's a dick." she spat, and as soon as the words left her mouth, she clasped it shut with her hand.

Thankfully, the men just laughed at her, seeming to agree quite a lot with her in her verdict of the tall boy. Well, how could they not? They must have spent an awful lot of time with him, and the boy was dumb as a rock.

Rachel found all of them grinning to themselves and stared at them with a curios look. She still had her hair in a messy bun, but she'd thrown on a pair of yoga pants and was currently spotting black glasses as well. The Latina found herself gaping at the sexy secretary vibe they gave the shorter girl. She hadn't even known that Rachel wore glasses – or more correctly, contacts, Santana assumed, at school.

"Glasses? You look hot." Santana said, as she hopped off the barstool.

Rachel pointed a finger to her glasses. "These ones? Oh, I hardly ever wear them. Usually I only take my contacts out for sleeping, but last night I didn't get them out because I stumbled to bed, so at this point my eyes were kindly asking me to let them breathe properly."

Santana knew shit about contacts, so she just nodded her head as Rachel said goodbye to her fathers. The singer was also spotting a tiny bag, and Santana didn't want to know what was in it – she figured she'd find out soon enough. The two Mr. Berrys also said goodbye to her, and she offered a funny wave, before she stepped outside behind Rachel. Since she'd walked there, the diva decided that they better take her car back to the Lopez house.

"I took the liberty of bringing with me a musical DVD." Rachel told her, as they backed out of the driveway. "I don't know how much cleaning we'll have to do, but I figured maybe we could watch a movie and eat something. I'm quite hungry now that my stomach has settled down."

Santana was pretty certain that watching a musical DVD would be the last fucking thing she wanted to do, but the idea of just hanging out with the other girl and eating all of those leftovers from yesterday didn't seem too bad after all. If Rachel hadn't been with her right now, she would've spent the entire day alone. "Maybe we should pick one of my movies instead, Berry." she informed the other brunette with a smirk.

**x**

"No fucking way, we're not watching that shit."

"Santana!" Rachel gasped, desperately clinging onto her DVD copy of some musical titled _RENT_, "You don't even know what it is!"

Santana huffed, "I know it's a musical, and that's enough for me, thank you, Berry."

Rachel stomped her foot angrily into the floor. "But Santana! When you think musical, I bet you think about the older ones, like _West Side Story _and _Guys and Dolls_, but this isn't like that. This is a _new _musical. As in – this film version is just a few years old and the music is _actually_ rock!"

Santana shook her head, still. She had to admit, that that sounded a bit better than some of that old crap she knew that Berry watched a lot, but still – it was a musical. As in, people were singing and dancing and shit. And that just didn't fly with her. "That may be, but we're watching my Christmas movie instead, okay? Vince Vaughn is funny, and Reese Witherspoon is fucking hot, so _Four Christmases _it is!"

"Fine," Rachel argued and fell onto Santana's bed with a groan, "but we're watching mine afterwards. It'll still give us plenty of time to clean up!" she wrinkled her nose and looked around the Latina's bedroom with disdain, "We should probably clean up in here too – looks like a bomb went off in here."

Santana turned her head to look at the diva; she was just putting the DVD into the player, but when Rachel went ahead and insulted her bedroom, she just really didn't want to let it pass. "What the fuck is up with you today? My bedroom's fine, Dwarf! I really don't think you're in a position to judge me. What are you – some kind of neat freak?"

Rachel crossed her arms. "I'm not a freak. I just like things to be in order. I hate mess."

The Latina sarcastically replied, "I hadn't thought so."

Moving to lie against the headboard, Rachel made sure to leave plenty of room for the other girl, which Santana was thankful for. Sure, she'd just committed herself to an entire day in Rachel's company, but that didn't mean she wouldn't want to kill her all the time. Everyone practically wanted to kill her all the time. The cheerleader would bet a thousand dollars that even her fathers wanted to kill her most of the time. It was kind of hard not to, with her diva attitude and everything. Though that was a trait that could be somewhat adorable when it wasn't directed at oneself.

_Holy shit!_, Santana thought then, when she really realised where Rachel was currently located, _Berry's in my bed! _

"Are you being sarcastic with me?" Rachel fired right back at her, a clearly insulted look edged across her features. "I can't say I care much for the tone."

Santana blinked a few times and pulled herself out of it with another deadpan, "And I can't say I care much for you insulting my bedroom." she spat as she hit play on the controller, and the film started up, "It's my place, and I like it."

Rachel's eyes scanned the room again and she huffed. "But how? Everything is just lying around on the floor. I'm not even sure what colour your carpet is – or is it a wooden floor?"

Santana decided to ignore the other girl as the first scenes of the movie started showing. She could tell that Rachel was still tense next to her, but it seemed like the singer was relaxing a bit more. The Latina didn't know what possessed her to decide on this movie, except for the fact that it'd been the closest within her reach when she argued the other girl. Plus, Reese Witherspoon really was a hottie, and the film always made her laugh.

Rachel huffed again, and Santana turned to look at her. "Now that's just completely silly." the brunette informed her.

Santana gazed back to the screen in confusion. "What is?"

"Would you look at them?" Rachel replied and pointed an accusative finger to the TV set, "They look utterly ridiculous next to each other! He's like – thrice her size or something!"

The Latina couldn't help but laugh that the diva had come to that realisation, because it was something she'd always thought when she watched the movie, too. They did look completely insane together, and the worst part of it was, it reminded her of another couple she'd had to endure for a while now. Turning to look at the other girl with a serious expression on her face, Santana said, "You do realise that's what _everyone_ thought when they saw you and Finn walking together, right?"

Rachel just stared at her for a couple of seconds, mouth agape, as the thought settled inside her mind. Santana could practically see the wheels turning inside her head, and it was highly amusing, if it wasn't for the fact that she was seriously concerned that the other girl hadn't noticed their obvious height differences before. How could she have _not_? "Oh holy Streisand, you're right!" the diva whispered then, her eyes moving wildly, as she gazed to the screen again. "We've looked that ridiculous?"

"Unbelievably so." Santana just replied, the movie momentarily forgotten.

Rachel shook her head to herself. "I always knew I had to lean up and he had to lean down just to kiss me, but _really_? We looked _that_ ridiculous?"

Santana rolled her eyes and turned her head to the side, to look at the other girl. "Yes. You really looked _that_ ridiculous."

The brunette bit her lip in thought for a moment. "Wow."

The Latina had to admit that encountering a speechless Rachel Berry was slightly scary, because that girl always had something to say. Yet right now she was just lying there on her bed, with such a shocked and surprised look across her face, and Santana didn't know if she should laugh or not. The entire situation seemed weird, really.

"It's half your fault though," the Latina added with a smirk, "Finn may be big, but you're tiny, too."

Rachel shot her a firm glare, and Santana was happy that she had successfully pulled her out of her thoughts about Finn and their height differences. "Yes. You remind me of that often enough, Santana, with your degrading nicknames of 'Dwarf', 'Midget' and oh – 'Hobbit', too."

Santana just chuckled.

"Being little is not a cause to ridicule! I happen to like my height, thank you very much." Rachel continued to argue with her.

The Latina rolled her eyes and glared at the other girl. "Your height fits you, _Midget_, it was just another way for me to get a rise out of you. Being little can be cute. Look at Reese Witherspoon!" she pointed to the TV with an evil smile, "He calls her 'Tiny' in this, did you know that?"

Rachel just crossed her arms and huffed.

"Can I call you 'Tiny' instead of 'Dwarf?" Santana asked then, not knowing completely where that had come from, but figuring it might be sort of nice to give the diva a cute nickname without actually admitting to her that it was supposed to be sweet. It would still mock her for her height, but the Latina would call her it for entirely different purposes than when she cleverly came up with the other nicknames to make fun of her height.

The singer glanced up at her through her glasses with a sideways smile. "I suppose it's better than the other ones."

Santana took that as permission and turned her focus on the film again, which was now a good half hour into the story. Rachel's eyes were on the TV as well, but she totally wasn't paying attention, Santana could see the thoughts inside her head, moving around with force. She decided though, that since Rachel was so deep in thought, she might as well focus on the movie completely. So that was what she did. For awhile. Until she felt something, and looked down to find Rachel's tiny fingers gripping onto her hand. Turning her eyes to the other girl, she shot her a confused look.

"Why'd you do it?" Rachel whispered, when their eyes met. Santana's confusion must've been evident to the tiny girl right off the bat, because she quickly continued, her voice just as husky, "Sleep with Finn? Why'd you do it?"

Santana had to admit that she was rather pleased they hadn't discussed this last night. Rachel hadn't even acted different with her from usually (except they _actually_ talked!). When she first spilled the beans about her night with Finn all those weeks ago, she'd thought that the diva would throw a hissy fit in her direction and ignore her forever. But it hadn't taken more than a couple of days, and after Sectionals, everything had been normal between them... or as normal as anything ever was between them. Back then she hadn't been able to figure out why, not that she'd given it much thought, but now she knew why – Rachel had had other things to worry about in regards of Finn, which was her oven indiscretion with Puck.

"Honestly?" Santana questioned her, but did not wait for an answer, "It meant nothing to me. It meant nothing to him. I only did it because Coach Sylvester was going to throw me off the Cheerios if I didn't date a younger man. And Finn?" she paused and heaved out deeply, knowing how little it had meant for him to be with her. It was actually a blow to her pride, but she figured she at least owed Rachel the truth. "He went out with me because he figured out you were still dating Jesse St. Douche bag, and I offered for him to lose the big V."

She heard Rachel take a sharp intake of breath.

The cheerleader continued, "Afterwards he was just... lying there. It meant nothing to him. He only wanted to do it because he thought you were going to give it up to Jesse."

"He should have told me all of this himself." Rachel said then, and when she removed her hand to brush a piece of her hair away from her eyes, only then did Santana realise that she'd been clutching it the entire time.

Pulling herself away from the thought of Rachel's tiny hands (which were definitely _not _manly... they were _so soft_!), Santana quickly recovered, "No shit, Sherlock."

Rachel's eyes returned to the screen, but she sighed heavily. "I can't seem to follow this film now that I haven't paid attention. Should we just go clean the house?"

Santana had to admit that that would probably be a wise idea since her parents would be returning home at one point, and she'd rather like it if Rachel had left when they did. So she turned off the TV, and the two girls made their way downstairs, where Rachel dramatically announced that it looked like World War Three had been fought in here, and Santana couldn't help but laugh as she went to find garbage bags to all the crap that fled the floors.

She soon regretted getting Rachel's help though, when the diva tried to organize their cleaning. "I will take this half of the room, you will take the other, and once we're done, we should most definitely sweep the floors before attending to the kitchen. This way, we'll finish one room before starting the other."

The Latina groaned and threw a couch pillow to Rachel's head. "Damn it, Berry! Don't organize everything, okay? We'll just clean this shit up, and then do the kitchen. No need to get your panties in a twist over it."

This seemed to confuse Rachel a great deal, because her eyes searched over the entire floor, before they settled on Santana again. "Just... do it?"

Santana shrugged her shoulders and turned to start the music on her laptop, which was still where it'd been sitting throughout all of the party. "Yes, Berry, just listen to the music, and clean the house."

So when the music started, Santana started to throw bottles and paper cups into the garbage bag, and Rachel just stood there for a second or two, clearly not comfortable with the idea of just 'doing it', but eventually she also started cleaning up, lowly humming along to the song that was playing. Santana chuckled to herself and watched the diva out of the corner of her eye, as she danced around in her yoga pants and probably sang much more than she cleaned.

But it was company at least, so Santana shouldn't complain.

She might've anyway. Just a little bit. There was no need for Berry to know that she actually kind of _liked_ hanging out with her... for some reason the Latina didn't get. _At all_.

* * *

_This is a rather short chapter, and I apologise for that. The events I had planned for this part were a little foggy, and I decided to put some of them in a chapter for themselves. I hope it's okay though! _

_I want to thank you so much for all the wonderful support you've given me for the first two chapters. I really appreciate it, you have no idea how much. _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or RENT, or Four Christmases for that matter. _


	4. I Follow Through

**Chapter Four **

**I Follow Through **

Strolling into Rachel's room that Thursday, Santana took the diva by surprise with a, "Fuck it, Berry, we're going shopping!"

Rachel yelped and practically fell out of her office chair, "Santana!" she exclaimed, her brown eyes wide in surprise, and hadn't Santana been on a mission, she would have stopped to admire the situation with a laugh, "What are you doing here?"

Santana rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Seriously, sometimes, that girl could be unbelievably dense. How come she could get straight As, but still not know how to act in everyday situations? "I just told you," the Latina explained, her patience already fading out, "we're going shopping."

Rachel's eyes widened even further, and Santana wondered how it was ever possible that she, herself, had thought she'd be able to spend an entire day with Rachel again – shopping nonetheless. What was it that she was doing here, again? Santana couldn't remember.

"But why are you _here_?" the diva stressed, empathizing the word 'here', "As in – why are you _in my room_?"

Santana shrugged, "Your father let me in."

Rachel cocked an eyebrow, "Well that's not disturbingly strange... But why are we going shopping?"

The cheerleader groaned again and moved forward, roughly pulling the other girl out of her chair. She was wearing her usual school attire, but Santana didn't even want to fight her over it; she'd be getting some new clothes today if the Latina had anything to do with it at all, which was why she even wanted to go shopping in the first place. She'd soon rid the diva of all argyle and animal sweaters. "You're pissing me off again, Berry. Haven't you seen your clothes? You should know why."

Rachel stopped in front of her, fingers clenched tightly. Huffing out air, she punctuated each word specifically, "My clothes are impressively adequate, thank you very much. And that does not explain why you're wanting to take me, anyway."

"Shit, are you really gonna make me say it?" Santana asked her, looking the other girl straight in the eyes. With a tiny nod from the diva, the Latina sighed, "Well that's just gonna be uncomfortable for everybody!" she tried to argue, when truth be told, she had no idea why she wanted to take the girl shopping, other than the fact that she _wanted_ to (and yes, it sounded _just as weird_ in her ears as it did in everybody else's). And she really didn't want to tell Rachel that, but she feared she might have to.

Rachel brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear and shifted on her feet, "Santana..."

The Latina leaned over and grabbed the other girl by the hand, pulling her forward a little bit, "Fuck it, I just wanted to take you, Berry, okay? You're in desperate need for some guidance with your wardrobe. No offence."

"How can I take no offence to that when you just downright insulted my everyday fashion sense?" Rachel questioned her, but moved away to gather a purse and her things nonetheless.

Santana smiled a satisfactory smile, and was proud of herself for so easily 'convincing' the diva to accompany her to the mall. She had things she needed to do there, dresses she needed to buy, and it wasn't like she was desperate to have someone to join her. She could've gone alone. She just wanted to do the other girl a favour, okay?

"So why is it that you wear such ugly clothes?" Santana proceeded to ask Rachel, as they made their way down the staircase.

Rachel let out an offended gasp, but all the way to the mall, she continued to explain to Santana why it was that she wore whatever she wore. Santana had to admit, that even though her clothes were horrible, the diva's reasoning actually made sort of sense. She was so afraid she wouldn't be noticed, she might as well wear something that was sure to be noticeable; even if it was in the wrong way. The only thing she had going for her, she said, was her voice, and since people around here didn't appreciate it, she might as well get them to see her somehow else. Hence the argyle. And she sort of _liked_ it too, she admitted.

Santana was just about ready to bite her head off when they entered the mall. She tried to explain to the other girl that people would still notice her even if she wore 'normal' clothes. Rachel wasn't hearing any of it.

"Look Tiny," the cheerleader said, as she turned to face the other girl, a small smirk evident on her features, "you're hot, okay? You've got a great pair of legs even though you aren't that tall, and beneath all those frumpy sweaters, I'm sure you carry some sense of a curve. I think my hands might actually fit around your waist, to be honest. So, let's just say, if you wore some fashionable clothes, people would still notice you. They'd be busy checking you out, that's what they'd do."

Rachel was just gaping at her, once Santana felt that she was finished with her rant. The Latina felt horribly awkward having actually said that to the other girl, but somehow, the small smile that slowly appeared on Rachel's face, actually made it worth it. Even if Rachel was still an annoying dwarf, at least she was a cute, annoying dwarf (when she smiled).

She felt Rachel's tiny hand grasp her arm lightly, "Was that actually a compliment from you, Santana?"

The Latina just mumbled something incoherently.

"But I like my clothes!" Rachel continued to tell her, as they paddled through the mall, zigzagging between the gazillion people who'd decided to go exchange their Christmas gifts before the new year arrived tomorrow. There were families with wailing babies, and grumpy old people with their slow walking, and Santana was thankful that she didn't have to exchange a single gift, but only had one thing on the agenda: New Years Eve dresses for her and Rachel. If she just... well, there was one minor detail she hadn't really sorted out yet, but she was quite certain that she'd find a way around that one as she did with most other things.

"Trust me, Tiny," she said, pulling her arm out of the other girl's firm grip, only to place it loosely around her shoulders, "you should buy some jeans and some regular shirts. If you have some money, you should really use this opportunity to let me help you find something new."

Rachel's scrunched her nose up in distaste as she gave the Latina a brief once-over. "It's not that I don't like what you're wearing, Santana, it's just – I don't really think it's my style."

Santana couldn't help but laugh. Again with the stupidity! Just because her style was a little different from every other girl's, didn't mean she'd try to put Rachel into something of that sort as well. She actually wasn't all that girly in her everyday life, herself. She preferred ripped jeans and band t-shirts and belts with lots of studs on them. She'd actually been in charge of their _Start Me Up/Livin' on a Prayer _outfits, and she was quite proud to walk around like this whenever she was able to. Which wasn't often, since she had to wear her Cheerios uniform at school, her costumes for Glee, and would usually dress up whenever she went out.

She shook her head at Rachel, "I know this isn't you, I'd find something that looks good on _you_. Everyone is different. And I'm certain we'd find a way to incorporate your lovely skirts into this new wardrobe of yours."

A smile lit up the brunette's face, "Are you certain? Because I quite like my skirts. They show off my best feature, as I've already told you in my drunken state last Monday."

Santana arched an eyebrow, "Oh yes, they do show off your best feature..."

An almost unnoticeable blush rose up the diva's cheeks then, and Santana looked away, quite unfamiliar with the weird feeling that settled all over her. Rachel wasn't looking her way either; she was walking through the mall with determination, even though Santana was pretty sure she had no idea where she was going.

"Anyway," the Latina decided to break the silence; there was nothing worse than awkward silences, even if they were with Rachel Berry and most people actually preferred her when she wasn't talking, "I figured that if I was going to take you to New Years, we better find something for the both of us to wear."

Rachel shot her a confused look. "New Years?"

Santana nodded, "Yeah, Mike's throwing a party this year. Pretty much the same people we were at my place. It's gonna be fun, we'll get drunk and dance all night. And we'll dress up and have guys drool all over us."

The diva bit her lip, deep in thought. Santana really wanted to know what worried her about this now, but she figured it wouldn't be too long before Rachel decided to tell her; after all, she was never known for shutting up for very long at a time. "But... a party? I usually just hang out with my dads."

"That's what we're changing this year." Santana heard herself argue, trying not to comment on the fact that hanging out with your dads on New Years was damn pathetic. She was trying this new thing right now, where she didn't insult the diva as much as she usually did. She found it was actually quite easy once she learned to laugh at Rachel's sometimes adorable naïvety, instead of finding it downright sad. She knew she couldn't force the other girl to go, except, well, maybe she did want to force her, because there was no way in hell she was going to that party just to stand there alone like some fucking moron.

Rachel seemed to have other ideas though, "But Michael hasn't invited me! I can't just crash the party, that's not very polite."

Santana shot her a sideways glance as she steered her in the direction of her favourite dress shop, "That's the only reason you don't wanna go?"

Contemplating it for a few seconds, Rachel gave her a mere nod, just as they walked into the store; which thankfully wasn't full of either old people or young people. Only a few teenage girls and the clerks behind the counter were present, and Santana much preferred it that way.

"Great!" Santana informed her, and pulled her arm away from the other girl, to dig into her pocket to find her iPhone, "I'm texting Chang right now to tell him I'm taking you, you need to find some dresses and get your unbelievably hot butt into that dressing room, so we can find something gorgeous for you to wear tomorrow!"

Rachel just stared at her for a few seconds, looking like she really wanted to say something, but the Latina gave her her most terrifying look, daring her to object. The singer must have come to the conclusion, that she somehow liked the idea in a way, because eventually she turned towards the closest rack and started sorting through it. Santana couldn't hide her smile when she quickly typed out a message to Mike, even though she knew it wouldn't be a problem. Mike was probably one of the other few people in Glee Club who didn't hate Rachel for being Rachel – he never really hated anyone, he was just Mike.

She stuck the phone back into her pocket, and decided to help Rachel with her dress before attending to her own needs. She really needed Rachel to look downright edible tomorrow, because she was technically going as Santana's date (not that she really was because that was just – ew..), but Santana only dated the hottest of people, so that was what Berry needed to be like.

Thankfully, she got to her just in time, too, because she was busy questioning the poor clerk if they did or did not have any argyle in their store. The Latina placed her hand across her mouth and shot the poor woman an apologetic look, "She's just kidding." she spat, before pulling the diva towards the other end of the shop.

"What did you do that for!" Rachel hissed when she was finally released.

Santana rolled her eyes. "You're being stupid. Let me find you something, okay? I'm thinking black, and I'm thinking short. Shouldn't be too hard."

"You know what," Rachel continued to fret, as she followed Santana, who was making her way through the store, her trained eyes searching every rack for possible dresses. "I don't have to do this with you, Santana. You continue to be mean to me! I don't have to stand for this. Do you know what you are? You're just mean and cold! You're – you're – you're _Satan_!"

Santana gave the other girl an amused smile, as she stopped in front of a suitable dress, "You done now?" she questioned, before she pulled it off the hanger and threw it onto Rachel's head.

The diva huffed from beneath the fabric, "I'm calling you Satana from now on, you know that right?"

She rolled her eyes, "Sure, you do that, Tiny. How about you try the dress on first, though?"

Rachel pulled the dress off of her head and turned on her heal, almost stomping her way towards the dressing room. Santana grabbed a red dress on the way there; almost certain that it was exactly what she needed. She'd bought so many dresses in her life that she could practically tell which ones would look good on her, and which ones wouldn't, the second she stepped into these kind of shops. She decided to wait trying it on though, curious to see if her choice dress would fit the diva at all. Or if she'd misjudged her completely. It was hard to tell; she'd never really seen Rachel's body before, it was always hidden beneath those ugly sweaters. It was a toss-up whether or not she actually had any curves underneath it all.

"I'm thinking we should get ready together." Santana told Rachel through the wooden doors. "Brittany and Quinn are getting ready together, we usually do the three of us, but I'm really not in the mood to deal with Brittany's stupidity and the stick up Quinn's ass, so I told them to fuck off."

Rachel gasped violently on the other side of the wood, "Santana! Those are your friends you're talking about. I know Brittany's hurt you, but that's not any reason to call her names. It's highly uncalled for."

Santana arched an eyebrow, even though Rachel couldn't see her, "Have you _met_ Brittany? She's perceptive, yes, but she's just a dumb, blonde cheerleader, too."

Which was one of the things Santana had loved so much about her. She wasn't sure if she still loved them or not, because her feelings for Brittany were pretty messed up at the moment. But she'd loved the fact that everything was always so easy with her, that nothing was ever a problem and that they could just go with the flow. Or at least it had been... until Brittany decided that that wasn't good enough and they needed to label themselves. Which was something that Santana just wasn't ready for, even if she'd never admit it out loud to Brittany, and had played it off somehow else.

Rachel poked her head outside slightly, and she had a small smile on her lips. "I actually really like this dress." she whispered, her eyes moving left and right, before she pushed the door open and motioned for Santana to come inside.

The Latina followed her inside, not quite sure if she was comfortable with it; she decided to go with it though, it being better than perhaps, let's say, being left alone all the time. She hated to admit it, but Rachel's company was actually better than complete and utter loneliness. Yes, it sounded odd in her ears, too. But Santana really didn't have much time to contemplate whether or not she actually liked Rachel's company (she really didn't _get _how she'd ended up like this...), because when she saw the girl in front of her, she felt like her jaw might unhinge itself. It was practically resting against her chest as she took in the look.

Rachel Berry _most definitely_ had curves beneath all that argyle.

"Holy shit!" Santana said, as she checked out the diva's rear in the mirror behind her, "Pardon my language, but you're a fucking hottie, Berry."

"You really think so?" Rachel innocently questioned, self-consciously dusting off invisible wrinkles and dirt from the tight, black spaghetti strap dress she'd somehow managed to screw herself into; it was as if glued to her body, and it somehow offered the support she needed to show off her breasts, her butt _and_ her legs. Which would – in a pair of selected heels – look even hotter than usually. Santana was impressed.

The Latina nodded, "We need to buy you heels and a purse too. Something fancy for the occasion." she dug into her pocket again, and retrieved her iPhone. She'd be happy to show off Rachel tomorrow night in a dress like _this_. Finn would be ogling her all evening, regretting letting a silly thing like cheating break them up, and Puck? Puck would be spotting a giant boner for his fellow Jew, the minute he laid eyes on her. Santana was actually beginning to see what it was that two of the most popular guys at school saw in the resident diva. Not only was she sort of sweet and caring, but she was pretty fucking hot when you got her out of her clothes. "Smile for the camera, Tiny." she said, before snapping a picture of the other girl, who just managed to pull off one of her famous smiles.

Looking at the picture on her phone, Santana didn't know why, but she immediately placed it as her wallpaper. Just to remind herself that Brittany was in the past, and that she had other things to do now. And okay, maybe also to be able to look at the singer occasionally, but come one – she was frigging gorgeous!

"So did you want to get ready at my place?" Rachel slowly questioned, her eyes barely meeting Santana's as she kept gazing everywhere but at her. "I'm not quite certain what 'getting ready' constitutes of, but I'm more than willing to try it with you."

Santana couldn't help but laugh again; it was so adorable sometimes, how Rachel had missed out on so much in her life. Normally, she would have probably laughed to hurt her with Quinn and Brittany about it, but those bitches weren't there now, so she was allowed to find it adorable instead. "We just hang out, Tiny, drink a few wine coolers, dress ourselves, do our hair, our make-up... stuff like that."

"Oh."

The cheerleader reached forward, and before she knew what she was doing, she'd tugged a piece of the singer's hair away from her face. "It's not brain surgery."

Rachel giggled a little. "No, I know, it's just – I haven't really done this before. I've never even really attended a party, but the one last Monday."

"Don't worry," Santana said, feeling the need to assure the other girl, to ease away some of her worries, "I'm not gonna leave you alone at that party. We'll just hang out and have fun. Your lips might come in handy at twelve o'clock."

The diva shot her a confused look, "Excuse me?"

Santana chuckled, "Well, when the ball drops, it's customary to kiss someone, just to welcome in the new year appropriately. I would like it if I could kiss you."

It wasn't something Santana had thought _a lot _about. She just – she just wondered why all the boys seemed to like kissing Berry so much. And she thought it was completely unfair that Brittany had kissed her – of all people! That shit just didn't fly with her, and she couldn't very well just march up and plant one on the brunette, because that would just seem odd, so she figured that New Years was a good excuse to do it. She would feed her curiosity and things could go back to normal. It was a foolproof plan, at least in the Latina's own opinion.

Rachel bit her lip, something Santana had noticed she did a lot, mostly when she was thinking. Not that Santana stared at her lips or anything, because why would she do that?

"What would... kissing you mean exactly?"

Santana could hear the worry in her voice, and almost wanted to smack the other girl upside down on the head. "Seriously Berry, I'm not asking you to be my girlfriend or anything, I just require your lips on mine to welcome in the New Year. It's really quite simple."

A small smile came onto Rachel's face then, and she nodded her head, "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yes, okay!"

Santana found herself breaking into a smile as well. "Great! Now, I need to try on my dress, and then we should head out to find the necessary accessories." she said, before pushing the door open, to leave the other girl alone to change back into her own clothes.

"Santana?"

The Latina paused by the sound of her name, "Yeah?"

She could hear Rachel shift uncomfortably on her feet, "Would you like to spend the night? After New Years, I mean. I could get Dad or Daddy to pick us up, and we could have hangovers together on Saturday."

Santana thought that that sounded pretty fucking amazing. But she didn't say that. She just said, "I'll think about it."

**x **

They spent the rest of the day at the mall together, and though Santana would never admit it aloud to anyone, she actually had fun. She should probably have figured this out by spending so much time with Rachel in Glee, but she was still surprised to learn that the other girl really didn't have a filter, and the she didn't get embarrassed. Over _anything_.

Now, Santana loved attention; actually, she pretty much craved attention from everyone around her. Boys or girls. She didn't care; she just wanted to look at them and have them look right back at her, wishing she was theirs. It happened all the time too, no matter where she went, people would turn their heads to look at her. It didn't take long before Rachel realised this, and she was quite in awe to learn that the whistles and the looks were an everyday occurrence in Santana's life.

("This happens to you _everyday_? _Whenever_ you're out in public?" "If you wanna hang out with me, you better get used to it, Tiny!")

But Santana had never received the kind of attention that one Rachel Berry brought with her whenever she was out. The Latina quickly learned that singing and being loud and obnoxious was not only something Rachel did at school. She also did it whenever they were in a store and there was music. Which was practically all the damn time. She sang along and commented on everything, and when Santana pretended not to know her, she would practically scream bloody murder. And thank God they didn't ran into anyone from McKinley, because Santana wasn't quite sure if she could face the inquisition yet. Well, she had spotted a few people a few times, but she'd managed to dodge them all, without Rachel really noticing anything; Thank God that girl was so naïve.

She managed to convince Rachel to spend so money on something new to wear. If Santana had her way, they'd throw out her entire wardrobe and start over, but Rachel really did have an affinity with her skirts, so the Latina wasn't about to throw them out for her. But she did get her to buy some simple t-shirts in simple colours, which would look way better with all that argyle than her animal sweaters would. Now, the cheerleader just hoped that the diva would actually wear the clothes they bought together.

Other than that, they tried on silly hats and took crazy pictures in this tiny store that Rachel's dad sometimes went to, and they ate lunch at a little diner (a burger for Santana, a salad for Rachel), where they just managed to talk about the next day and about Glee and what Regionals was going to be like. Honestly, Santana was having an okay time, considering her company, until said company decided to bring up the subject that Santana really wasn't comfortable with; Brittany.

She was driving Rachel home in her car since it was just before supper, and the tiny girl suddenly turned the music off and looked to Santana with serious eyes. "How's it with you and Brittany lately?" she softly questioned.

Santana felt her fingers tighten around the steering wheel, and she hoped they'd soon be at Berry's house. "It's none of your business."

"_Santana_." Rachel firmly said, and it was clear that she wasn't to be messed with, that they were discussing this, whether Santana liked it or not. "It is my business, okay? Because for some reason – I can't exactly explain why it happened – you became the one person who was actually paying attention to me during this holiday. And I appreciate that. And I know you'll probably go to your grave swearing you were never nice to me, and that's okay too. But I do care about you, and I can see that you're really hurt."

Ignoring her completely, Santana turned left and was happy to notice they were now at Rachel's street. Just another minute and she could kick the other girl out of the car, and pretend they never started talking about this.

Rachel huffed next to her, clearly insulted. "Satana!" she mocked, just as the Latina turned off the ignition, "I mean it! I'm deadly serious here. I know you and I are hardly friends, and than when school starts you'll find other ways to amuse yourself, but I want to help you."

The cheerleader turned to the other girl with a groan and roughly hammered her hand into the soft cushion of the seat – right next to Rachel's thigh, "I swear to _God_, Berry! Stop talking! Please just stop talking!"

"Why? Am I making you uncomfortable? Are you not able to discuss human emotion?" Rachel snarled right back at her, her usually so warm brown eyes, lightening up completely; she was ready for battle.

"You fucking don't get it, do you, Berry?" Santana spat at her. She could feel everything inside of her, just waiting to blurt out. She was ready to scream to feel better, and she was aware that it wasn't Rachel's fault that she was feeling that way, but the other girl was just so damn infuriating with her questions and her fucking demands, when all Santana wanted was a bit of fun to keep her mind off of things! But no, no fucking way. Rachel frigging Berry had to go and ruin everything with her big mouth and her stupid opinions.

The brunette heaved out loudly and said, "What is it that I don't get?"

Santana stared at her then; her voice had gone soft, it was full of care and warmth, and it truly looked like she was just a concerned friend, wanting to help another friend out. And somewhere in the last few days she'd spent talking to her, hanging out with her, Santana found herself in a place where she almost didn't care if Rachel cared. She would have preferred it if she didn't, but it seemed like she did, and maybe it wasn't so bad after all. And maybe she cared a little bit, too.

"I have no other ways to amuse myself, Berry," Santana said, shaking her head to herself, "you're it, you get that? No one fucking wants to be around me anymore. Brittany's drifting away from me, and I know I'm not helping that, because I've been pushing her in that direction. And Quinn's so self-righteous, she just doesn't get me. Puck's good for what? A fuck? And everyone else.. they just judge me, but they don't know me. I know it's my own fault – I know I have trouble letting people in."

And just like that, Santana found herself almost spilling out tears in Rachel Berry's driveway. It wasn't something she'd tried before, and she couldn't say she cared much for it. She strongly willed herself to keep it inside; Santana Lopez didn't cry, she just _didn't_.

Rachel's tiny hand somehow found hers in a firm grasp. "I'd like to get to know you."

The Latina swallowed loudly. "I'm not gonna fucking abandon you when school starts, Berry. Sure, my reputation is still intact in those halls because those bitches fear my fury, but I swear – I'll not leave you alone. You're the only reason I'm even sane right now, I'm sure of it."

Rachel chuckled lowly, "I thought I was the reason you _were_ insane." she jokingly said, trying to lighten the mood.

Santana found herself smiling at her; genuinely smiling, with a true chuckle on her lips. "You don't want to get inside my head, Berry. It's scary in there."

"I would like to get you to open up." Rachel whispered, her thumb drawing lazy circles on the top of Santana's hand; it was quite suiting, and quite what Santana needed.

Santana swallowed loudly. She wasn't sure if she could do that, but she wanted to try. Rachel was quite literally the only person she had left, and if she didn't open up somehow, she was going to lose her too, just like she lost Brittany and Quinn. Hopefully she'd be able to restore some of her broken friendship with them once she felt better about herself. But right now, all the interaction they had was superficial and lame (well, hadn't it always been like that with Quinn?). But Brittany... God damnit! Brittany, she'd been there, they had been _real_. As friends and as lovers... they'd shared something, and Santana feared she might never get it again, because she couldn't open herself up.

But somehow... Rachel Berry had already wormed her way into her heart. With her stupid knee socks and argyle skirts, she was there, and she was real. And she was caressing her hand like a real friend should, just because she knew Santana needed it. What more could one possibly want?

"I'm gonna hug you now." Rachel whispered, before gently pulling Santana into her arms, and holding her close, as the Latina felt herself sink into the warm embrace of a girl she, just a week ago, swore she hated with passion.

Santana felt something wet and hot run down her cheeks, but she couldn't move to wipe it off, because Rachel had her in such a strong hold. And that was when she realised that it really didn't matter anyway; Rachel certainly didn't care. She just ran her hands up and down her back and breathed onto her neck in a way Santana was sure she should probably find disgusting since it was _Rachel Berry_ doing it... The Latina just didn't care about that shit anymore. She just cared about not being so alone.

She felt a light kiss on her cheek as the diva pulled back, a sad smile on her face. "I'll see you tomorrow around noon, alright?" she murmured, brushing a piece of Santana's black hair out of her face.

Santana nodded and turned to stare out of the front window, as Rachel left the car, gathering all her bags into her arms. Santana tried to ignore it, she really did. But she couldn't dismiss the tingling sensation that Rachel's lips had left on her cheek.

* * *

_I apologise for the slight delay, I hope everyone had a wonderful New Years Eve. The next chapter should be Rachel and Santana's New Years Eve and after that – school start! I hope I'm not moving things along too quickly, but I feel that in the state both of the girls are in, clearly very vulnerable, it's easy to let someone in when they're all you feel like you have. _

_Anyway. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Just some more Rachel and Santana bonding ;-) please leave your thoughts, I'd love to hear suggestions or other comments you may have. _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or "Take Me Or Leave Me". _


	5. Kiss, Pookie?

**Chapter Five**

**Kiss, Pookie? **

Santana arrived at the Berry household at little past noon the next day. She had three different bags packed to the brim with clothes and make-up and other necessities, and she was certain that it was going to be a good night. She couldn't hide the fact though, that she was sort of nervous to be spending the entire day with Rachel – after the little meltdown she had yesterday in her car.

It wasn't her intention to get all honest and open with the other girl, it just sort of happened somehow. Rachel was a very honest person and she wore her feelings out for everyone to see. Santana figured that maybe that was what rubbed off on her so quickly, because since they accidentally opened up to one another in her kitchen last Monday, she'd found herself spilling everything to the diva, if she just poked her the right way in the right amount of time. Which worried Santana, honestly. She'd never tried baring herself like that before.

But that wasn't going to let her ruin tonight. Sure, Brittany was going to be there with Artie, but the Latina was sure that Rachel would keep her occupied throughout the night, since she was very high maintenance and didn't like it when she was ignored. Which might be exactly what Santana needed, really, to keep her mind off of things. It wasn't like she really _wanted_ to spend her night with Berry. It just worked out that way for everybody in the end. Neither of them were alone, which was what mattered.

Rachel's fathers were absolutely thrilled to have her over, Santana quickly realised. They fussed over her when she came, and Rachel explained that they were just so happy to see that she was having female company over. They somehow feared that being raised by two men, they might have ruined her chance to have a meaningful relationship with another female. Santana thought that that sounded completely stupid, which was exactly what she told the other girl. Rachel agreed. Her two fathers continued to fuss nonetheless, and while they both took turns showering, music bolting from Rachel's iPod station, they ran in and out of the diva's bedroom, asking them continuously if they were hungry or thirsty, and if they needed anything, they'd just run to the store.

Santana could tell that Rachel was mortified, and kept herself from commenting on it. Instead she decided to enjoy herself – Rachel's parents were the cool kind of parents who didn't mind if their under-age daughter drank ("They've been young too once, Santana!"), so the few wine coolers Santana brought were opened and consumed while they did each other's hair and make-up.

It wasn't so bad, really. With Brittany and Quinn it was sort of different, since they'd always talk about guys and the Cheerios and Sue Sylvester, but it was actually sort of fun with Rachel too. Santana noticed a bunch of posters on the diva's walls of various musicals (which didn't shock her), but Rachel responded to that by putting on a song from some musical named _A Chorus Line_, claiming that it always made her think of Santana when she heard it. Santana probably should have been offended with the song called _Dance; Ten, Looks; Three_, but she found it highly amusing that this girl turned out to be a talented hottie in the end, which wasn't such a bad thing after all.

She almost managed not to think about her two fellow Cheerios who were getting ready together at Quinn's house, just a few blocks over, and it almost felt good to laugh aloud of Rachel, when she came out of the bathroom looking completely ridiculous after attempting to give herself a smokey look. And it wasn't even to be mean to her, Santana noted, she just laughed because the other girl was so adorable; she laughed in the sort of way that she would usually laugh at Brittany when she made some confusing comment about ducks and whatnot.

And the Latina also learned, that even though Rachel loved to talk, she also knew when it was better not to. She didn't mention once what had transpired between them yesterday and Santana was really thankful for that. It had probably been good for them, to get some of the things out in the open, because Santana had to admit that she couldn't picture herself not spending time with Rachel Berry any time in the near future. It just felt good to know that there was someone who'd be there for her if things really heated up. She hadn't been uhm... _friends_ (were they friends?) with Rachel Berry for more than a week, but she was pretty sure that the diva would have her back if necessary. And Santana fully intended on having hers, too.

Rachel wasn't as secure in high heels as Santana would have hoped, so she had the other girl walk around in them all afternoon. Even at dinner with her parents, which was just pizza on the kitchen counter, the diva stood up once in awhile and tryingly walked around the counter. The Latina was highly amused, and she could tell that Rachel's fathers were as well. Santana really liked them, to be honest, they didn't seem to judge her the way most parents did when they heard her name and realised who she was. They just loved the fact that – apparently – she put a smile on Rachel's face.

After dinner they dressed as the last thing. Santana was quick to get into her red dress without messing up her hair and her make-up. And since she knew it'd be burning hot inside Mike's house with all those people, she decided to be cold on the way over there and left the nylon panty hose at home. Rachel was having more trouble worming her way into her tight dress though, so Santana had to help her get it over her head without ruining the incredible 'do – it had taken Santana the better part of an hour to style it; some boy _have better_ notice it tonight. Thankfully, Rachel wasn't shy about standing in front of Santana in her underwear, which Santana had known already. After all, the diva had been quick to claim the role as Janet in _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_ at school, full well knowing she'd have to be on stage in her underwear. Back then, Santana hadn't looked because the thought had made her want to gag. But right now? She might've sneaked a _little_ peek.

"Why is it that I have to have some elaborate hairdo, when yours is just down straight?" Rachel demanded to know, as they were putting on their heels and doing last minute touch-ups to their make-up.

Santana shot her a look through the mirror, "Because you usually wear your hair down – you need a change. I usually wear mine up in a ponytail, that's why it's fancy when it's down."

That actually seemed to make kind of sense to the other girl, and the discussion was soon forgotten. At twenty to eight, they made their way downstairs, and Rachel's tiny father almost dropped his jaw when his eyes landed on his baby girl. Santana couldn't blame him – it was a very different Rachel Berry emerging from upstairs.

The other father whistled, "Sweetheart! You look so grown-up."

A tiny blush found its way onto Rachel's face. "Santana helped me with everything. I actually quite like the look. Not that I'll be dressing as this regularly, but for parties I think it's perfectly acceptable to look your very best."

"Just make sure that Noah boy doesn't try anything tonight, Darling." First Mr. Berry said.

Santana snorted. "He won't. Don't worry, Mr. Berry, I won't let him near her. She's way too good for him."

He shot her a huge grin, "I've always liked you, Santana. And I think it's time to stop with the formalities. I'm Hiram and that's my husband Leroy. We expect you to call us by that from now on."

Rachel lit up like a giant Christmas tree right next to her, and as they followed Hiram outside, leaving Leroy to fend for himself for about thirty minutes, Rachel eagerly whispered to her ear that it had taken Finn months to be allowed to call them by their first names. She actually believed that her fathers had been rather amused, watching him trying to struggle between Mr. Berry and Mr. Berry. This made Santana feel a strange sort of satisfaction that she just couldn't explain. Thankfully, she didn't have to, because the two Berrys talked the entire way to Mike's house, and after Rachel promised her father she'd text them _whenever_ they wanted to come home, Hiram drove off, leaving the two girls on the street in front of Mike's house, a bag of alcohol dangling from Santana's hand.

Santana moved to take a step forward, but Rachel's small hand on her arm stopped her, so she turned around to look at the other girl expectantly. "What?"

A tiny smile found its way onto Rachel's face, and she took a step forward, lightly pressing her lips to Santana's for the briefest of seconds, "Happy New Year, Satana." she whispered, before she turned towards the front door, dragging a completely baffled Latina cheerleader behind her.

_What the fuck? _

Santana had no time to think it over though, because when they entered the house, the party was already getting started and Santana felt like she was blown away by the music banging from the stereo in the living room. She followed Rachel into the kitchen and placed their alcohol on the counter (it was already stacked; they'd _so not_ needed to contribute – no one would have noticed), before they went into the living room in search for the host and their fellow Glee Clubbers.

The Latina did not miss the fact that several eyes followed the tiny diva as they made their way through the house. Rachel demanded attention in whichever situation she was in – and when she was wearing a dress like that, it was hard to imagine that the guys would mind giving it to her. Santana shot daggers in every possible direction and made sure they all knew that she was _off limits_. She knew Rachel wouldn't do anything with them anyway. They only wanted her because she was dressed like this; on Monday, she'd be argyle-wearing Rachel Berry again, and they wouldn't give her the time of day.

They found Mike and Puck by the stereo, arguing over what music to put on. Santana had been right in her assumption of Puck; his eyes literally fell out of his head when Rachel bounced forward and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Hello losers." Santana said, awkwardly padding Mike on the side of his arm, "Chang, we put our booze in the kitchen, not sure you'll need it though."

Rachel opted with a small hug for Mike as well, "Thanks for having me, Michael. Is everyone from Glee Club here?"

Mike's gaze shifted between Santana and Rachel, obviously trying to make the connection, but he was probably too buzzed to think clearly. "Yeah they should all be around here somewhere. What are you wearing?"

Rachel took a step back and smoothed down her dress. "It's a new dress, I bought. Do you like it?"

"Do we like it?" Puck gaped, his gaze moving not so subtly from Rachel's long legs, to her hips, to her chest, before settling on her eyes again, "I fucking love it, Baby. You look frigging hot."

Santana hit him firmly on the arm. "Hey! I promised Mr. Berry not to let you ravish her, so you better get your head out of the gutter."

Puck just grinned goofily. Yup, his head was most definitely in the gutter.

The Latina grabbed Rachel's arm tightly, "Let's go, Tiny." she mumbled, before dragging the other girl with her through the mass of people. She intended to find them something to drink and perhaps a place to sit, and just overall avoid Brittany and Quinn who were in this house somewhere. She didn't want to deal with them and the looks they'd give her when they realised who she was clinging onto for the evening.

When they entered the kitchen though, they came face to face with another person she just really didn't have the patience to deal with, either. Huddled against a counter stood Finn, with Kurt and that Blaine guy right next to him. The tall guy's lips immediately fell open, and Santana could see him producing drool inside that giant mouth of his. Kurt however, as soon as he noticed them, moved from Blaine's side to get a better look at Rachel.

His trained eyes studied her over a few seconds as he went around them, clearly not giving Santana the time of day, not that she'd expected him to. Eventually, he came to a stop in front of the two girls, and with a huge smile said, "I like it!" he clapped his hands together, "Rachel Barbara Berry, I had no idea you had it in you, but you most certainly do. You look stunning!"

Rachel wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, "Thank you, Kurt. Santana did my hair."

Now it seemed like Kurt and Finn both noticed her presence and the shocked look on Finnocence's face gave Santana the utmost pleasure. "We were just getting something to drink." she said then, her eyes locked straight to Finn's, as she gently placed a hand on the small of the diva's back, guiding her towards the counter. The other girl was oblivious to it all; her naïvety proven useful once more.

Santana could feel Finn's daggers on the back of her neck as they made their way back into the living room, but she didn't even bother to tell him to back off. It wasn't like she was stealing Rachel away from him – from anybody for that matter – she didn't even want Rachel. They were just hanging out, and if Finn had a problem with that, then he better deal with it himself, because she certainly didn't have the patience to try and get it through his thick scull. She was at this party to have fun now, and that was what she intended to do.

So the rest of the night, as the clock neared twelve, people filed in and out of Mike's house, but Santana and Rachel hardly noticed. They danced and talked and chatted with the other Gleeks occasionally. And the Latina just had fun. Rachel didn't leave her side once, and she didn't leave Rachel's, which was a promise she'd been adamant about following through on. It looked liked the diva was having a lot of fun, too. Last Monday she'd had fun as well, but the entire party had been dulled because of her earlier fight with Finn. But tonight, Finn was just another party-goer to them, and it was exactly what Santana wanted.

A few times they were asked to dance by guys, and Santana only left Rachel once to dance with Matt, but that was only because Tina and Mercedes had been with them right then. Otherwise she wouldn't have left her. Some of the football players from school even asked Rachel to dance, but the diva politely declined which just made Santana all the more happier; especially when she caught Finn watching them with sad eyes from across the room.

The Latina was vaguely aware of the fact that someone else was watching them, too, but she was desperately trying not to let it bother her. She'd seen the eyes Quinn shot her when she first realised that the girl at Santana's side was Rachel Berry. The blonde head-cheerleader had been thoroughly surprised, but held it in as she proudly walked her man-candy around on her arm. She'd been shooting them curious looks ever since, and Santana knew the wheels were turning inside her head, wondering what was going on. Mostly because in Quinn's head, nothing was wrong between them, everything was as it always was, but in Santana's head, things hadn't been right for a long time. And she wasn't sure she could pretend it was okay anymore.

Brittany just looked adorably confused all evening, and Santana even dodged her a few times, when she tried to make her way over there; she'd grab Rachel by the hand and haul her into the bathroom or kitchen – somewhere far away from Brittany S. Pierce. Santana knew that it was hurting the other girl, and she couldn't stand the thought of her being the cause of it, but she also knew that if she let herself get sucked into the universe she'd created with her childhood friend, then she'd have to deal with things she just wasn't ready to deal with right now.

There was now about forty minutes until the ball dropped, and she and Rachel were leaning against a wall, drinking their wine coolers and reminiscing about their Glee Club Lady GaGa adventure, since _Bad Romance _had just started streaming through the speakers. Santana was just about to make a comment about Rachel's _interesting _first dress, when Puck approached them and sheepishly offered a hand to Rachel, indicating that he wanted to dance with her.

Santana didn't really understand the friendship that the two of them had, because it constituted of Puck hitting on Rachel about 99 percent of the time, but apparently it worked for them, because they really seemed to care a lot about each other.

"Do you mind?" Rachel questioned her then, her eyes wide with questions.

The Latina shook her head. "No! 'Course I don't mind, Tiny, I'm not your fucking date, OK? Just remember," she tapped a finger to her head, "twelve o'clock, eh?"

The diva gave her a saying look, before she followed Puck onto the packed dance floor, and he immediately proceeded to grope her ass as they danced. Santana turned her eyes away from them, and took a long sip of her wine cooler. Was it bad news that as soon as Rachel left her alone, she had literally no one else to turn to?

She almost jumped out of her skin when she turned her eyes the other way and found Quinn standing there, an amused eyebrow cocked all the way to her hairline.

"Fuck Q, scare me much?" Santana yapped at her, before emptying her bottle. She placed it on the shelf behind her, right next to Rachel's bottle, which was practically full. On a whim, she grabbed that one instead and took a sip of it.

The blonde girl scoffed. "What's your deal, S?"

Santana wasn't in the mood for Quinn's games, she really wasn't. "What do you mean?"

"Why are you hanging out with RuPaul?"

As soon as the last word left Quinn's lips, Santana realised that she was so not okay with it. She shot daggers at Quinn, but managed to maintain herself and not strangle her in front of the entire school. She shifted on her feet instead. "RuPaul? Really? Have you seen her tonight, Quinn? You can't very well call her RuPaul anymore now that you know what's underneath all those sweaters."

Quinn's eyes were filled with anger, and the Latina knew that she was pissed. "What the fuck are you up to, Santana? Is this some elaborate prank of yours? Are you trying to further humiliate her after sleeping with her boyfriend? Or are you just being a complete ass and doing this in hopes that it'll hurt Brittany some more?"

"Shut the fuck up!" Santana spat right at her; she didn't want listen to this, and she didn't _have_ to listen to this. Quinn thought she was the Queen of the World, walking around like she owned the place. But she fucking wasn't. She was just another student, and she had better stay out of things she didn't know anything about. "First of all," Santana begun, poking a finger into Quinn's chest, "I don't ever wanna fucking hear you refer to Rachel as 'RuPaul' again – and none of those other degrading names either. Those days are over, got it? And second of all," she tilted her head back and locked her eyes firmly with her best frienemy's. "don't ever think you know anything about me and Brittany at all. You don't know a frigging thing!"

Quinn's usually so wide and open hazel eyes were only two slits when Santana pulled away from her, but if she thought that she scared her, she better think again. She wasn't scared of the HBIC. She would have still been head-cheerleader herself if Quinn hadn't gone to Coach Sylvester about her summer surgery. And when it came to playing dirty and pulling out all the stops, the both of them knew who had the upper hand. Quinn could be vicious, yes, she could get what she wanted – but she wasn't nearly as dangerous as Santana was, and the blonde knew it, too.

Quinn took a step forward, effectively pressing Santana against the wall, "I don't wanna fight you, S, because that's just gonna hurt Brittany and she's around here somewhere. I still care about her, you know, even if you don't."

"I've always cared about B." Santana honestly whispered, not backing down from the challenge that Quinn was presenting her with, "I just don't see why she should be the only person I have, when I'm not her first priority anymore."

The blonde broke out in a short laugh. "Oh! That's _priceless_. So you think you're Berry's first priority now?"

Santana noted that Quinn was too scared to call Rachel something else, and had gone with the safest bet; 'Berry'. This pleased the Latina immensely. "I know I'm not. But I'm simply making myself some new friends, Quinn. It doesn't matter that you were too scared to take her up on her offer when she gave it to you – I'm taking it now. And as it turns out – she's a fucking awesome friend to have. She's _there _when you need her to be, not just when it's convenient."

Something a lot like hurt floated through Quinn's brown eyes then, and as she stepped back, a sad smile flickered across her face. She flipped her hair behind her shoulder and heaved out deeply. "Well. Just make sure you know what you're doing. Berry's gonna bring down your rep."

And with those words, the blonde girl turned on her heel to join her twin somewhere else, and Santana just had to get the fuck out of that room. She knew that the back entrance into the kitchen was open for people who needed to smoke, and fresh air sounded exceptionally well in Santana's ears. So she made her way into the kitchen and through the door, happily taking in a wonderfully deep breath as she leaned herself against the brick wall.

_I just defended Rachel against Quinn, _Santana panicked, her heartbeat picking up as the realisation settled in, _Oh my fucking God, I just defended that tiny diva against a girl I've been friends with my entire life. How the fuck did that happen? _

She really had no idea. Everything had just sort of burst out of her when Quinn had been standing there, thinking she could control everything to her liking. Santana couldn't even explain why she'd told the other girl off regarding Rachel, and the only reasonable reason she could come up with, was the fact that that was what she had wanted to do – it was how she had felt. She just hadn't really thought she'd feel that way, but apparently she did...

"San?"

Santana's head shot up up when the familiar sound of Brittany's nickname for her disturbed the cold night air. She was comforted, for a second, with the way it rang into her ears and did strange things to her heart. But when she looked up to see that it – indeed – was Brittany who'd addressed her, her entire body seemed to freeze up completely. Of course it was Brittany, only Brittany called her 'San'.

"Are you okay?" Brittany gently whispered, taking a tentative step closer.

Santana pushed herself away from the wall and met Brittany halfway there, a chill settling on her arms – it was rather cold outside this close to midnight in December. That was the _only_ reason. "I'm – I'm fine," she croaked, nodding her head a little, "just fine."

Brittany smiled. "Oh."

Santana shifted on her feet and casually turned her hand over to take a look at the time. The ball would drop in twenty minutes and she had to get back inside to find Rachel. It just wouldn't be New Years if she didn't get her kiss at twelve o'clock. "Look B – did you want anything in particular?"

The Dutch girl flinched at the harsh tone; it wasn't one Santana used very often with her, since she didn't really get mad at her like she did with everyone else. "Just..." she trailed off, and Santana's heart did a little funny thing, because this adorableness was what she loved so much, "Who is that girl you're with? Is it your new best friend? Like I was your best friend before I was with Artie?"

Santana raised an eyebrow in confusion. Who had Brittany seen her with? She had barely been with anyone other than Rachel for the entire evening... "What girl?"

"That hot girl you were with!" Brittany said, her gaze shifting from the ground to Santana's eyes. "I know you wouldn't date a girl, because you wouldn't date me. So are you just friends?"

The Latina didn't have the heart to tell her that she wasn't dating anyone at the moment, and she really didn't want to get into this right now. The only thing she wanted to know was what Brittany thought she'd seen – because Santana hadn't been with any girl tonight. Only Rachel. "Look B – I'm not dating anyone. But... what girl are we talking about again?"

Brittany sighed heavily, as if _she_ was the slow one. "That hot girl! You know – the one with the heels and the black dress. She is sooo pretty... and she dances really well, too."

Santana's mouth formed a tiny 'O' when she realised that Brittany was talking about Rachel. The description fitted perfectly and it would make the most sense since Santana had only been with the diva for the night. "Are you talking about Rachel?" she lightly questioned.

The confusion was evident on Brittany's face. "No. No that tiny girl you were dancing with."

"Brittany, that's Rachel." Santana gently explained. She couldn't help it at all; it was just the side that came up in her whenever she was talking to the blonde girl and she got confused. She'd been taking care of her since kindergarten, it wasn't easy to just stop doing it.

Brittany bit her lip, "Rachel who?"

Santana smiled warmly at her. "Rachel Berry. From Glee Club, you know?"

"Oh."

Santana watched in amusement as realisation settled on the other girl's face. She could understand the confusion for some reason. Brittany probably couldn't recognise Rachel now that she wasn't wearing her usual skirt and knee-socks. Which Santana understood; it was sort of hard to tell that the girl in that dress inside was, indeed, the same girl who annoyed them all on a daily basis.

Brittany got a crooked smile on her face then. "It just didn't look like her, I guess. She is really pretty tonight."

Santana felt herself nod. "Yeah. She really is, B..."

Brittany sighed heavily again. "Do you like her?"

Santana opened her mouth to answer, but found that no sound was coming out at all; she just gaped at Brittany, who stood there, adorable in her jeans skirt and glitter top, with her hair falling down her shoulders and chest. And the Latina didn't even feel the desire to take her up against the wall. All she could think about was the fact that Rachel really did look very pretty tonight, and that Brittany had just asked her if...

"Santana, there you are!"

The two girls outside turned their heads to the right, only to find Rachel standing in the doorway, a giant coat wrapped around her shoulders (Santana vaguely remembered it as Puck's). She couldn't help but let her gaze wander up the tan legs as Rachel descended the two steps, before joining them, a curious look in her brown eyes.

The blonde girl shifted her gaze from one brunette to another, before she took a step backwards. "I need to find Artie before the ball drops." she whispered, before she turned around on her heel and went back inside, shutting the door behind her; but not before shooting a lingering gaze in Santana's direction.

Rachel huddled herself into Puck's coat. "I'm sorry. Did I interrupt anything?"

Santana looked at her, her eyes shifting over every feature on her face; scanning everything from her plumb, kissable lips, to her characteristic nose that didn't seem too big at all when you got used to it, to her huge chocolate orbs, which were right now staring back at Santana with something ablaze of care inside of them. And the Latina found herself shaking her head.

Rachel's smile widened. "Do you suppose we should go inside and watch the ball drop with the others or do you rather wish to stay out here?"

The cheerleader gripped the other girl's hand quickly and squeezed it. "Can we just stay out here? We only have about a minute left of 2010. I think I might wanna spend it with you."

The diva took a step closer and tentatively wrapped her arms around Santana's waist, burying her face in her chest. Santana could feel her heart speed up with the flick of warmth that emitted from the singer's body as it pressed against hers. And she held her tightly, as everything quieted down inside for the big countdown. She could hear people shuffling around, looking for their significant others, but all she could do was cherish the feeling that erupted all around them as they stood there, spending the last of the year together.

She couldn't help but wonder – what would the new year bring? She hoped for better things, she hoped that she could be more honest with herself and that she'd stop hurting the people she cared about the most. That there'd still be people who cared about her at all.

And suddenly, all of that didn't matter much at all, because before she knew it, Rachel's breath was ghosting against her mouth, and she found the other girl pressing their lips together as people cheered from inside the house; she hadn't even heard them count down. She'd been too wrapped up in thoughts about herself and the new year, and now, all she could think about was the pressure from Rachel's body against hers as their lips caressed each other in a kiss that welcomed in the new year. It should just have been brief; it most definitely should have ended by now. But Santana couldn't get herself to pull back, instead, she tugged the other girl closer and continued to kiss her, their breaths mixing, and her heart thudding.

They were pulled apart abruptly, when some dude smacked the back-door open and stepped outside, his arms loaded with fireworks.

Rachel grinned sheepishly at her and nudged her shoulder. "Happy New Years, Santana."

"Happy New Years, Rachel." Santana grinned.

"You wanna go back inside and get something to drink?"

The Latina placed an arm around the short girl's shoulder and pulled her flush against her body. "Hell yeah!"

**x **

When Santana awoke the next morning, she had the worst hangover she'd experienced in awhile. She could feel it immediately; the second she moved over to get a look at the clock on Rachel's bedside table, she felt the contents of her stomach slurp around. She sat up in bed, the covers spilling from her shoulders to her lap, and held a hand to her head. Fuck it, she had a giant headache, too.

Looking over to her left, she found Rachel sprawled across the mattress. Her long hair was still tangled in a, now messy, hairdo, and she was wearing nothing but a giant t-shirt she'd thrown on last night in her drunken state. She'd kicked the covers off too, and was currently heaving in and out deeply. Santana could understand that; if her mouth was anything like the Latina's own, it was probably rough like sandpaper at the moment, making it extremely difficult to breathe.

She turned her head to the side to find that it was just a little past ten, an acceptable time to wake up after a party. She fumbled for her iPhone on Rachel's night stand and yawned to herself when she realised she had a bunch of unread text messages. She had to check them... she needed to pee though. Oh, and she needed water.

Santana grabbed her phone and stumbled out of bed as quietly as possible. She entered Rachel's bathroom and closed the door, before raging her cupboards for some sort of painkillers. She was happy when she found some Advil and quickly swallowed two with some water. Turning to find her toothbrush in the mess she left on the bathroom floor last night, she scrolled through the new messages on her phone. There were the 'Happy New Years' texts from all her family members; several from all of her older siblings, who – apparently – didn't believe that _one_ was enough. And then there were a few from some Cheerios and the occasional Glee Club member she hadn't talked to after the ball dropped.

There was one from Puck saying, _Where did you disappear to last night? Did you hook up? _

She deleted it immediately. No, she did not hook up. She hadn't wanted to either, but of course Puck would assume that because she'd been outside for such a long time. _Happy New Years to you too, moron. _Santana almost gagged.

She paused then. There were several other texts from Quinn about what had transpired between them last night, and Santana absently scrolled through them all while she brushed her teeth and used the toilet. Some of them were rather lengthy, too. But she didn't bother replying to them, even _if_ Quinn was sorry. She could just go fuck herself.

The Latina returned to the bedroom then, placing a glass of water and two Advils on the table next to Rachel, before crawling over the other girl, and settling herself beneath the blankets, ready to get a bit more sleep. She turned her eyes to the phone, but practically dropped it, when she saw that she had one last unread text message – from Brittany.

Biting her lip, Santana seriously considered just deleting it, but something inside her just couldn't do it. With a flick of her thumb, she opened it and found three words inside of it.

_I miss you. _

Heaving out a deep breath, Santana felt her heart clench. She closed her eyes for the briefest of seconds, before turning her attention back to the small device in her hands. What was she supposed to say to that? She missed the other girl too, but she just couldn't play this game of push-and-pull anymore.

Just then, Rachel groaned loudly in her sleep and messily turned herself over, managing to tangle herself even further in the sheets of her bed. And Santana couldn't help the tiny smile that came onto her face right then and there, watching the other girl sleep. She turned her eyes back to Brittany's message and with new determination pressed 'delete'.

* * *

_Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews I've been receiving from you guys! You have no idea how much it means to me; it really keeps me wanting to write this faster and better with every chapter. I hope I got back to all of you, but I'm not quite sure, because for some reason, I got no emails from FF for a couple of days, and it turned out, my email function had somehow been disabled. I have no idea how it happened, but I guess I've missed a helluva lot of updates, too.. Anyway. I just wanted to clear that up, in case I didn't get back to some of you like I usually do. _

_Oh. And I really hope that I did not disappoint with this chapter! The next chapter is the first day of school which should be interesting. I have ideas as to where I want this fiction to go, but I'm still a little iffy about how I want it to get there. So that should be an interesting write! _

_Please drop off your thoughts on this chapter – was it good, was it bad? _

_And on another not entirely (I do realise I leave extremely long A/N's – I apologise profusely), I'm sorry if there sometimes are some silly mistakes in my updates. Mistakes that I probably should have caught and corrected, but I tend to proof-read immediately after the entire thing is written, and therefore I don't catch everything. I'm sorry, I know it bothers you, and I'm bothered too when I read something that's just filled with mistakes. I really will try to do better. _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or any of the songs or films I mentioned in this chapter. _


	6. Don't Waste My Time

**Chapter Six **

**Don't Waste My Time **

Sue Sylvester was a fucking slave-driver.

That's the realisation Santana came to during Monday's early morning practice. She'd told them to fuck off for the holiday break if they all made sure to work out by themselves. Santana had done shit, and Sylvester fucking knew it. She was working the entire squad to their bones, and she was feeling frigging good about it, too. She just stood there with her bullhorn, spitting out insults. Basically – it was like any other Cheerios practice Santana had ever been a part of it.

They ran laps over and over until her lungs were burning and some of the freshmen girls fell to the ground, heaving after air. Santana found it amusing, those _poor_ little things weren't used to Coach Sylvester's ways just yet. The act of avoidance was also taken into good use during their two hour practice (they'd met at frigging five thirty this morning!). Santana knew she couldn't avoid Quinn forever – she was the head-cheerleader, that'd be just like asking to be kicked off the squad – but she wasn't quite ready to deal with Quinn's opinions yet, and definitely not ready to deal with all those text messages she'd received from her over the course of the weekend.

It seemed like she was sorry – but then again, one could never know with Quinn Fabray.

They practised one of their routines for Regionals, and it fucking sucked having some bony cheerleader's knee edged into her back for another 45 minutes. This only managed to fuel the Latina's hate for the blonde girl who'd so easily knocked her off the pedestal and stolen it back for herself. For some reason or another, all of this really made Santana just want to see Rachel – quickly. She couldn't wait to get finished in the dressing room, and hopefully she'd be able to locate Rachel somewhere before homeroom. She didn't really know what the diva did at school since she'd never found herself needing her outside of Glee, but Santana was positive that she'd find her _somewhere_; whether it was in the auditorium or the choir room, really didn't matter, she just needed her for a moment to get through her day.

She felt something quiver up further in the pyramid, and Coach Sylvester pulled out the bullhorn, "You think this is hard!" she yelled at them, "Try parachuting off a plane and into shark-infested waters. THAT'S HARD! ...hit the showers."

Santana let out a thankful groan and patiently waited until everyone had climbed off of her back, even though the urge to just pull herself out from under them was huge. She dragged herself into the locker room and continued to pretend that Quinn's eyes weren't digging into her back, and that Brittany wasn't ignoring her. Santana knew she deserved the latter – she hadn't even bothered to respond to Brittany's honest text message. She just couldn't get herself to do it, really. She finally felt good about _something_ in her life – what wasn't going to happen if she got sucked into Brittany once more? She'd get hurt all over, because Brittany wasn't ready to leave Artie, she'd made that perfectly clear – she actually _cared_ for him. And the more Santana though about it, she really believed that she didn't want Brittany to leave Artie. It was okay if they weren't together like they used to.

But it'd still be fucking nice to have her friend back at some point. The Latina just wasn't sure how to make it happen.

She took her time showering this morning. She wanted to see Rachel, but she also wanted the HBIC to leave the dressing room before she had to go out there and get dressed. Peaking down the hall, Santana was pleased to see that she was all alone in there and quickly redressed herself in a clean Cheerios uniform. She dried off her hair, pulled it into the mandatory ponytail, and applied a bit of make-up, before she glanced at herself in the mirror and decided that that was good enough. Grabbing her bag from the bench, she made her way towards the door.

Only to come to a halt when it pushed right open, and she came face to face with Quinn.

Straightening up her back, Santana narrowed in her eyes. "What?"

The blonde cheerleader let the door smack close behind her, and effectively shut off Santana from the rest of the school. "You didn't answer any of my texts, S."

The Latina tilted her chin up and crossed her arms. "I was busy."

"Doing what?"

Quinn didn't ask because she didn't know, Santana could easily tell so. She asked because she wanted to hear Santana say that she'd been hanging out with Berry and her fathers instead of training or working on new routines. But the brunette wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of caving like that, so she just continued to stare her down.

"Look," Quinn begun, dropping her duffel bag to the ground and taking a step closer to Santana, "I don't know what happened to you, S, but last Friday, it really freaked me out. I meant what I texted you, okay? I'm sorry if I was out of line – you're my best friend, and honestly, this is scaring me."

Santana heaved out deeply. She could tell that Quinn meant it, that wasn't hard to see. She also knew that she should probably just open up to her, but that was a task she'd never particularly enjoyed. Where did it get her when she told her about her surgery? The bottom of the pyramid, that's where. "You're sorry, I get it. Apology accepted." she mumbled, before moving to step around the other girl.

Quinn followed right along with her. "S!" she firmly said, her dark eyes shooting lightnings in the small confines of the Cheerios' locker room. "_Seriously_. We're worried about you. You've been so different. You haven't been hanging out with us anymore, and B says you never even text her. Then at the party you were just standing there in the corner and then-" she cut herself off, clearly as uncomfortable with the situation as Santana.

"And then Berry."

The blonde gave a short nod. "And then Berry."

Santana shifted on her feet. "I don't know what to tell you, Q, I really don't."

Quinn's gaze travelled over her body, tracing every inch of her, and Santana felt like she was being x-rayed. She knew that she was just sizing her up, but it wasn't in a good way. "We've been friends since preschool. You can tell me anything. No matter what it is. I've got your back."

Santana clenched her jaw. See, that was where she was wrong. They might've been friends for a very long time, but she'd never had her back. Not when it really mattered. "Have you, Q, have you really?" she spat back at the other girl.

A flicker of hurt flashed across Quinn's face, and she hesitantly took another step forward. "Of course." she whispered, and for a second Santana saw some of that vulnerability that had been so evident last year when she'd been pregnant. She'd tried to bottle everything up, but it had been harder for her. After this school year had started though, she'd worked so hard to put up all of her walls again, and she'd been successful.

"I don't think you really do." Santana was quick to inform her, using the blonde's moment of weakness to her advantage. "It was always a fight between us, Quinn, about who could beat the other at everything. And I'm just tired of it – friendships aren't supposed to be like that. I'm sorry if you don't like it, but I've found myself a friend in Berry, a _real_ friend, she's got my back."

Quinn stared back at her, disbelief streaming out of her every pore. "What about B?" she then wished to know.

The Latina shrugged her shoulders. "What about B? I'm tired of that game, too. I never know where I have her, okay? It's cool if she's with Artie, I get that, she loves him. They're actually sort of good together, but..." she trailed off. It felt like she'd already discussed this with the other girl last Friday, but she realised that some things were better mentioned more than once. "I guess I just can't deal with it."

"She misses you."

Santana felt her heart skip a beat at the blunt announcement. She didn't doubt it one bit either, because Brittany had told her so too, and if Quinn was dishing it out, it meant that Brittany must _really_ miss her. A part of Santana was very pleased that the other girl felt some of the hurt that she'd felt herself, but that quickly evaporated when the image of Brittany's sweet face settled itself inside her brain. Who was she kidding, really? Brittany had always been the most important thing to her, and things like that don't just change. "I miss her, too."

Quinn shook her head to herself, her ponytail whipping mercilessly from side to side. "Then I don't see what's happening here, why you're not hanging out like always."

Santana rolled her eyes at the other girl. "You do realise that we were not just _hanging out_, right Q?" she spat at the other girl, knowing how much it bothered her, "Or did you have that Christian cross so far up your ass, you didn't see it? We had sex, okay? And it wasn't just once, it was a bunch of times, and it was _good_."

The head-cheerleader flinched when Santana started going into detail about it. Santana had never understood a lot of things about Quinn, but this was what confused her the most. Quinn was a good, Christian girl, except for one silly mistake. Yet she was still friends with her and Brittany – two girls who were obviously more than just friends – but she'd always turned the blind eye to it, pretended like it didn't exist.

"Shit went down, okay? Shit's been going on since we did our duets, and it wasn't pretty. I hurt her, she dated Artie..." Santana trailed off. The actual words 'Brittany hurt me' were never going to leave her lips, because Santana fucking Lopez had more pride than that. "It's just not so easy, Q."

Quinn breathed out and gently tilted her head to the side. "You really hurt each other." she stated, but she was not looking for an answer. "Maybe you're not supposed to be together that way, but I know you'll both end up miserable without the other's friendship. I can be a friend to B, but I'll never understand her like you do."

Santana knew it was true, she'd always understood Brittany. Better than even Brittany's parents or siblings. "I've been so frustrated, Quinn," the Latina honestly said, her heart fluttering wildly in her chest, because this was something she wasn't comfortable with, talking like this. "I've been... restless. I didn't know what to do. I thought that breaking up Finnocence and Berry was gonna be pleasurable to me, but it fucking wasn't. You've been off with your Siamese twin, and this isn't easy for me to say, but I've – I've felt sort of alone."

Quinn's mouth formed a perfect 'O'.

"And I'll fucking murder you if that ever leaves this room." Santana finished, for good measure. She knew it wouldn't leave this room. Quinn wasn't _that _stupid.

"Fix the friendship, okay?" Quinn mumbled, reaching down to grab her duffel bag. "I'm telling you this as your friend, but also giving you an order as your head-cheerleader. _Fix the friendship_."

Santana glared at her.

Quinn just offered her a tiny smile. "I really hope you'll feel comfortable coming to me Santana, you're my friend. It may be better if you take your time, but... please come back to me."

Santana snickered. "I don't think I like this soft side of you, Q, it's pathetic." she mumbled, before she pressed pass the other girl and into the bustling hallway. It may seem like nothing was resolved during the course of that conversation, but Santana had a feeling that everything was just resolved. Quinn might not understand her choices, she might not really get what had happened, but at least she knew, now. Even if it had been absolutely painful to talk to her about it.

The Latina had to admit that she sometimes wished she had a friend she was comfortable telling everything to, but after the conversation she'd just shared with Quinn, she realised that the brilliant thing about that friendship was that they didn't get each other for shit, they didn't even particularly like each other. Yet, there they were, best friends, because no one else had ever been comfortable befriending them. And she was fucking going to miss Quinn if she didn't have her to bitch to whenever shit went down. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if they worked their crap out.

Santana checked her watch and realised that it was too late to find Rachel before homeroom. So instead of turning towards the choir room, she made her way down another hallway to go grab her shit out of her locker.

Today was going to be a long day.

**x **

It was the first Glee Club meeting of the new year, and Santana just wanted it to be over before it even begun. After everything that happened that morning, she just wanted to go home and lie in her bed. She couldn't deal with the way Quinn kept casting sideways glances at her, as they waited for Mr. Schuester to show up. Rachel was perched on a chair at the other end of the row with Puck's protective hand on her shoulder, from where he was sitting behind her. The Latina could feel the diva's eyes on her, too, but it wasn't uncomfortable like Quinn's scrutinizing gaze was. It felt nice and comfortable, and Santana found herself sending a sly smile in her direction, which only caused the singer to give her famous Rachel Berry smile right back.

The atmosphere in the room was good though, it seemed like people were getting even closer after their parties over the break. Mercedes and Tina were chatting away, and their laughter overshadowed any feelings of hate that some members might have for other specific members. Santana wasn't naming _any_ names though. She was just observing.

Mr. Schuester came into the room in his true fashion, a giant smile on his face. He clapped his hands together and demanded their attention. "Alright people! I trust you all had a wonderful break and that you're ready for Regionals."

A chorused mumble of agreement was heard.

"Since we only tied at Sectionals, we're going to have to up our game even more, we cannot let that happen again." he told them, his gaze moving over each of their faces as he spoke. "I still think it is a good idea to showcase some of our other talented performers, so Rachel and Finn, I don't think that you'll-" he cut himself off when Rachel's tiny hand shot into the air. An annoyed look swept across his face and Santana wondered briefly what the fuck his problem was. "Yes, Rachel?"

"Mr. Schue, if you will please allow me," the diva begun, quickly slipping out of her chair to face the room and her team-mates, "I've been doing some thinking over Christmas break, and while I agree with you that it is a wonderful idea to make sure that everybody feels important to the team, I also disagree with you about Regionals. It is a fact that we simply weren't good enough to win Sectionals. Why would we take the risk once more at Regionals? However, I do believe that Finn and I are no longer adequate to perform duets together, since our relationship has ended on a less than pleasant note. This fuels me to believe that-"

Santana gaped at the girl as she continued to list off song selections and ideas for solos, and the Latina wondered for a second, why it was that she had been hanging out with her lately. _Oh yeah, _she reminded herself, _because beneath all of … that... she's a good person and we actually have fun. _It still didn't stop her from thinking that Rachel was seriously going too far since this was only their first meeting.

"-_and_," Rachel seemed to finally be getting to the end of her monologue, "as I told Santana repeatedly, her rendition of _Valerie _was exquisite, which allows me to believe that we should offer her more solos. With that being said, I still think it's in the club's best interest if I carry the big solo at Regionals. I have made a list of song selections, if you would please look at it Mr. Schuester, and I also made a list with possible duets for other group members to perform. Another list was made regarding our themes, because I am prone to believe that choosing a theme will only be beneficial, like we did last year when we tributed _Journey._"

"Wait a second," Sam looked confused, "how many lists have you made again?"

Looking through her papers briefly, Rachel counted them quickly, before looking up at him with a giant smile. "27."

Around her people groaned, and Santana shook her head at the other girl as she stood up and snatched the papers from her, before Rachel had any say in the matter. "God, would you quit that? You make lists about everything!"

Rachel gasped. "You're saying that as if it's a bad thing!"

Santana stared at her with disbelieving eyes. Sometimes, this girl could be so stupidly naïve it was ridiculous. "Just calm the fuck down, okay Tiny?" she hissed, before she went back to her seat, Rachel's many lists tugged in her lap.

"Those aren't the only ones, you know!" the diva argued her, as she made her way to her chair, "I have copies! _Plural_ copies!"

"Well, that's good for you." Quinn murmured, and Santana couldn't hide the small smile that came to her face. She knew that Quinn meant it in the most horrible way, but Santana found it quite amusing. Once you saw past the annoyance that Rachel first seemed to be, you realised that all of her quirks and traits could be – sort of – endearing. Mostly. When she didn't get too out of hand, of course.

Mr. Schuester took centre of the room again and gestured to their resident diva, "Your proposals are duly noted, Rachel." he said, before smiling at the rest of them, "I also have a few ideas as to what we could be singing at Regionals, and I'll happily accept other suggestions."

Mercedes spoke up then, "I have suggestions too. None of them are as … _evolved_," she paused with a cocked eyebrow in Rachel's direction, "as Rachel's, but they're good nonetheless."

"There's nothing wrong with being prepared, Mercedes." Rachel kindly informed her, completely missing the part where Mercedes made fun of her for it. Again, this caused Santana to chuckle.

Puck leaned slowly forward in his seat and continued to whisper something in Rachel's ear that made her blush furiously. Santana watched with wide eyes – completely ignoring Mercedes, Mr. Schue and Tina as they discussed solos – as Rachel and Puck continued to banter back and forth. The Latina clenched her jaw and wished she could tell what they were talking about; it was difficult though, because not only was Mr. Schuester still having a lesson, but Quinn and Brittany were discussing the newest cheerleading routine right next to her, so it was impossible to hear anything. She could say though, that she didn't care much for the stirring feeling of jealousy that erupted in the pit of her stomach at the two Jews' apparent chumminess.

Finn was glaring rather evilly at them from his seat, not that Santana cared about his feelings at all.

When Mr. Schuester was finally done yapping on about Regionals, he dismissed them all for the day, and Santana was dead-set on talking to Rachel immediately. They hadn't even spoke a word to each other before their little disagreement in front of the Glee Club, and she just wanted to make sure that they were good. Well, why they shouldn't be good, Santana didn't know, but it was nice to be sure.

Rachel was packing up all of her things in a slow manner as usual, and Santana just lingered around the room, hoping that everyone would leave before the diva. She didn't count on Finn approaching her though, with his dopey look and hands stuffed deeply into his pockets.

"Can we uh – can we talk?" he asked her.

Santana had no idea what the fuck the idiot wanted now, but it looked suspiciously like she was going to miss Berry if she stayed and talked to him. Holding out a finger to keep him waiting, she called for Rachel's attention. "Can I talk to you, Tiny?"

Rachel looked up from where she was trying to close her pink roller bag without breaking the zipper. "I'm actually in a hurry, I have ballet."

Santana felt her face drop. "Well, can I pick you up after?" she asked instead. She had no idea why she needed to spend time with the other girl so badly. She just did, okay?

The diva glanced between Santana and Finn for a few painful seconds, before she stiffly nodded her head. "Sure, I'll send you a text."

Santana felt a smile breakout on her face, and was happy to see that Rachel offered her a smile as well, before she tugged her bag behind her out of the room, effectively shutting Finn and Santana off from the rest of the world. The two of them. Alone. In the choir room. How _profoundly_ nice. Santana just wanted to punch his stupid face.

"What do you want, Finnocence?" she asked him, crossing her arms in front of her chest in the most stoic manner.

Finn blinked a few times. Apparently everything he'd wanted to talk to her about was thrown out the window with the little exchange he'd just witnessed. "What's going on with you and Rachel?"

Santana glared at him. "I don't see why that's any of your business."

He just looked at her. "I know you hate her, Santana, and I might not date her anymore, but I still care for her. I don't want you to hurt her again."

The Latina rolled his eyes at his obvious stupidity. "Who says I'm going to hurt her, moron? We've been hanging out."

The football player scrunched his nose in confusion. "But you guys don't like each other."

Again, Santana just wanted to punch him. He was such an idiot, it wasn't even funny. He should seriously consider signing up for Special Ed. Classes or something like that. How he even managed to gain enough credit to stay in extra-curricular activities was beyond her. "We like each other just fine." she spat back at him, shifting on her feet. "Look, was there a point to this conversation or am I completely wasting my valuable time talking to you?"

Finn scrambled to explain himself. "I was just wondering if maybe... that offer about you and me – if it was still good? I'm not really over Rachel, I think it'll be awhile, but she really hurt me, and it's not like you and I would be dating, we'd just be having sex, and I-"

Santana held up a hand to stop him before he dug himself into a hole he couldn't easily get out of. "Shut the fuck up! Are you asking me if I wanna have sex with you again?"

He only nodded.

"Do I look like a slut to you?" Santana questioned him. Now she seriously _considered_ breaking his nose. "There's no fucking way that I'm having sex with you, Finn. It's not my fault that you screw up in your relationship so often that your girl doesn't wanna give it to you. And I'm _not _helping you restore your reputation, if that's what you're hoping. I don't care about you, I never have. But now I care about Rachel."

Finn just gaped at her, and she watched him, hoping to hear an answer out of his mouth. But when nothing came, she reached for her bag on the floor and shot him a short look, before turning to leave the choir room. She wasn't naïve enough to think that she'd heard the last from Finn Hudson – not after starting her budding friendship with Rachel.

**x**

Santana tapped her fingers against the steering wheel, her trained eyes focused on the building right in front of her. She was sheltered from the cold Ohio winter weather inside of her family's red Polo. Her siblings had all had to share it when they lived home, but since it was only her and her brother left – and he was just an afterthought at barely seven years old – she usually had the car all to herself, except if her parents needed one each. But that rarely happened, because they usually carpooled to work. Which worked out pretty well in her favour, because she saw this car as all her own, and she couldn't count the times she and Brittany had made out in the back-seat.

In this exact parking lot, too.

Brittany's dance classes had been held in the same building as Rachel's ballet class did. Actually, Santana believed, all sort of dance classes in Lima was held in this particular building, since it was the only dance studio in town. She'd usually wait for Brittany to finish too; either in this car or inside. She hadn't wanted to go inside though, she didn't know if it was her place to disrupt Rachel and her fellow ballerinas like that. Besides, the class was over two minutes ago, and the students were starting to file out.

The Latina couldn't hide her smile when she saw the tiny diva step outside and search the lot for the red car she'd become quite familiar with over break. Rachel's face lit up in a small grin and she jogged across the parking lot, huddling herself inside her winter coat, her pink bag on wheels rolling behind her. (Santana _so_ had to do something about that thing).

Rachel threw her bag into the back-seat before slipping in next to Santana, who turned on the engine. "Hello." she cheered.

"Hi." Santana calmly replied as she backed out of the parking spot. She tried to ignore how she felt so self-conscious with Rachel's chocolate eyes on her skin.

"Did you talk to Finn?" Rachel questioned then, resting her hands in her lap. She was gazing out the front window on the road, and Santana loved the fact that she didn't even ask where they were going. It was like she knew they would be going to her place anyway.

Santana turned the wheel and went down the main street of Lima. "Not much talking was done, to be honest. He was being a douche."

Rachel just nodded.

Santana glanced briefly at her, "He wanted to sleep with me."

The diva gasped loudly and turned her attention fully to the Latina, who was happy that she had to focus on her driving, because she couldn't bare it if she looked into Rachel's eyes and saw actual tears there because of him. She didn't want to take the risk. "He said that?"

The Latina nodded. "He did. He said he wasn't over you..." she trailed off, trying to make the other girl feel better, even though her ex-boyfriend of eight months was bouncing back after barely three weeks. "But he wanted sex, so..." she shrugged.

Rachel sighed heavily and nodded. "He's always wanted sex. I'm just glad I didn't do it with him. I'm beginning to wonder why I mooned over him so much."

"I always wondered about that." Santana honestly told her, turning the car down another street. "You were always better than him, Tiny."

She saw Rachel smile out of the corner of her eye. "You really think so? Even last year?"

Santana smirked. "He was a douche even when he dated Quinn. I've never cared much for him. Wanted to punch his stupid face in more often than not."

The singer let out a series of adorable giggles, and Santana's smile grew even bigger. It felt like all of the stress and worries she'd been dealing with the entire day, they just faded away so quickly when she was with the other girl. Since talking to Quinn this morning, she'd just wanted a simple Rachel Berry smile or maybe a few supportive words. She'd been sure it'd cheer her up, and it was happening right now, so quickly. Santana wondered what that might mean.

They were silent on the way back to the Berry house, and Rachel fidgeted with the CD-player, a displeased look on her face as she skipped through most of the songs Santana had put on her mixed CD. She'd put all of her favourite songs on it just before Christmas, but apparently none of them were anything good according to Rachel. They really did have a different taste in music. Santana didn't think the diva would ever listen to _Muse_ or _The Academy Is..._ But then again, she did sing that song by _Paramore _after the entire Britney Spears debacle, so one could be surprised.

She chuckled to herself as she thought about her and Brittany's trip to the dentist.. That had been before everything got screwed up between them, back when she'd still had her best friend. It seemed like ages ago, really, but in truth it was nothing more than a few months. So much had changed since then.

The car came to a stop outside the Berry house, and Santana followed Rachel inside with no questions asked. It was scary how sudden it had become a regular occurrence for her to be parking her car right there, and how Rachel's fathers would light up with huge smiles whenever they greeted their house guest.

They weren't home now though, and Santana skipped right past Rachel and into the living room, where she threw herself onto the couch with a massive groan. She was sore everywhere because she hadn't worked out during the holidays, and she'd be paying for that even more tomorrow when she woke up to another outrageous workout with Sue Sylvester.

Rachel peered down at her and Santana offered her a cheeky smile. "What?"

Giddily, Rachel rolled her eyes and slipped off her winter coat, before throwing it on the chair Leroy usually lounged in during the evenings. Santana's head peaked up slightly, when she saw what Rachel was wearing underneath that thick coat though. She couldn't help it – the way her eyes skimmed over the revealed curves of the other girl was entirely involuntarily. However, she didn't complain. The tight ballet bodice hugged the other girl more than the dress she wore last Friday, and the tiny tutu did nothing to hide those long, gorgeous legs. Santana found herself wetting her lips with her tongue and roll over further on the couch, to get a better view.

_What the hell? _

She snapped up in a sitting position, when Rachel turned back around with an expectant look in her eyes. "So was it tough this morning? Cheerleading?"

Santana stared at the other girl, truly mortified over what she'd just been thinking earlier... had she just – had she just checked _Rachel Berry_ out? She knew the girl was a closet hottie, but seriously – from realising that to actually admiring it? That was a huge leap. And did she really want to be checking her out? What did it mean? It was Rachel fucking Berry, for Christ's sake! It wasn't some popular cheerleader, but the frigging lead of Glee Club.

"Santana?" Rachel questioned her, placing a concerned hand on her arm, as she took a seat beside her on the couch. "Santana, are you okay?"

The Latina brushed the hand off, completely ignoring the flash of electricity that erupted on her skin, and let her eyes meet Rachel's. "Sorry, I was just thinking about how utterly ridiculous you look in that tutu." _Lie. _That was a lie. _You're such a fucking liar, Santana! _

Rachel blushed a deep red and awkwardly smoothed it for wrinkles. "It's common costume for ballet, Santana. And this isn't even a tutu, they're made of tulle. This is a simple skirt. Do you see me making fun or your cheerleading uniform?"

Santana had expected the other girl to get defensive. She never took anything lying down, this was no exception. "No I don't, because I'd smack you if you did."

The brunette didn't say anything.

"And cheerleading practice was normal, you know Coach Sylvester..." Santana trailed off.

Rachel set her jaw. "Thankfully I'm not as familiar with her as you are."

The Latina scooted closer to the other girl on the couch, full well knowing that she'd pissed her mildly off with the degrading comment about her tutu. And it sucked completely, because it hadn't even been the truth. Why did she have to get so defensive whenever she got too close to another person? It was what pushed Brittany away and ruined their romantic relationship beyond repair. She could just hope it hadn't ruined their friendship, too. And she didn't want to push Berry away as well. She placed a strong arm around Rachel's shoulder and tucked her close. "Quit moaning about it, you're cute in your little _tutu_."

A warm grin spread across the other girl's face, and she decided to ignore the fact that her skirt was _still_ called a tutu. "Did you talk to Quinn or Brittany then?" she wished to know, now snuggling very comfortably into the nook beneath Santana's armpit – her shoulder just fit perfectly in there, it amazed the taller girl.

Santana drew in a long breath. "I talked to Quinn, we sorted out most of our shit." she told the other girl. She knew that Rachel wanted her to make up with her best friends. She'd tried to pursue her into it the entire weekend, and Santana had been the one on the edge about it. But she was glad that she'd somehow listened and decided to give Quinn a break. Now it was just... Brittany. "I'm gonna talk to B too." she heard herself promise, "I will, Tiny, I just – I need a little time, okay?"

Rachel pressed a warm kiss to the side of her jaw. "Thank you." she seriously said. "What do you wanna do until dinner?"

"Watch a movie?"

A squeal came out of Rachel then. "Oh! Yes! You know what you promised me, right? You promised you'd watch _RENT _with me. It's about time."

Santana groaned aloud. "Really? You're really gonna make me sit through that?"

Rachel stared at her very seriously. "Yes, Santana, you will watch _RENT _with me, because that's what friends do."

The Latina felt something tighten in her throat as her eyes searched the other girl's. "We're friends?"

"Yeah," Rachel replied, honestly, "I think we are."

* * *

_I absolutely loved Lea in her ballet outfit during Total Eclipse of the Heart – she was so adorable! And I read somewhere that they're actually going to be doing Take Me Or Leave Me on Glee! I'm not sure if it's just rumours of if it's been confirmed, but apparently Rachel and Mercedes are going to be singing it. I really hope it's true, because having Lea Michele sing one of my all-time favourite musical songs – that'd just be grand! :) _

_Anyway. I hate to be redundant, but Quinn and Santana's relationship may need a bit of work in my opinion. They talked most of it out, but Santana's not one to just forgive and forget, so I will preferably be writing more of Quinn into the story as it progresses. And for those of you who looked for a good Finn and Santana smack-down, I can promise you that this wasn't it – there's more to be said on the matter. _

_Please leave me your thoughts on this chapter! I know it didn't move the story along that much, but it should be getting better in a few chapters. Santana and Rachel will definitely be growing closer... After all, Rachel falls in love so quickly, it's crazy. _

_On another note, this is a review reply for Boop, so if you're not interested, just skip it ;-) _

_Don't worry, I'm not lashing out at you, it's simply just a reply to your concerns regarding the story. You needn't worry, I did not take offence to your review. I actually do see where you're coming from to be honest. I'm a Glee fan who really appreciates the relationship between Santana and Brittany on air (despite the fact that they deserve much more than the hardly-there-vibe that the producers have been giving us). I actually really love them together, and I know that Santana is very protective of Brittany, that's the feeling I got from the very beginning. She loves her more than she loves anything – or anyone – else, really. She would never deliberately hurt Brittany, and it's certainly not what I'm trying to get across with this story. However, I am trying to write Santana as deeply hurt and conflicted, and thoroughly confused about her feelings for the blonde girl. I think that Santana, because she bottles everything up inside like she does, is prone to feeling a lot of different emotions regarding Brittany. But mostly, I think she just feels hurt that Brittany seems to have chosen Artie (which has certainly been showed on the show!), and therefore I think that some hurtful things – things she doesn't really mean when it comes down to it – is being said/thought on her behalf. Santana hides her emotions, she doesn't want people to see them, and therefore she is covering up how much Brittany hurt her by lashing out at her instead. (At least that's the way I interpret her character, and if you disagree, well, then we could have a longer discussion about that at some other time ;b). _

_I am in no way bashing Brittana, and I am sorry if that's the vibe you got when reading the story, it was never my intention. As I mentioned earlier, I adore them together. And if you've decided to stick along for the ride still, you'll see that I am going to acknowledge how much they mean to each other, I never said I wouldn't. Santana just needs to work pass some issues regarding their relationship first. _

_I realise that you didn't want to bash me with your review, that you were just offering your opinion, which I greatly appreciate, by the way. I also realise that it would have been much more adequate if I could have contacted you somehow else, but since you either didn't log in or didn't leave an email for me to get back to you at, this was how I had to do it. I hope that's okay with you. _

_With everything being said (and me trying to explain myself), your thoughts are duly noted. Really. _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or any movie or band mentioned in this chapter. Nor do I own Take Me Or Leave Me from RENT. _


	7. I Can't Help It, Baby

**Chapter Seven **

**I Can't Help It, Baby **

The rest of the week went by quickly for Santana. She had to gear up now that she was back in school with the hectic schedule she had with cheerleading, schoolwork and Glee. Now a big part of her time was also spent with Rachel, since the tiny diva had somehow managed to snatch a permanent spot in her life within just a few weeks. It was okay though, because when they hung out after school, Rachel wouldn't let them do _anything_ if they didn't do their homework first. Normally, Santana would probably have given her crap about it, but since the idea actually made sort of sense, she didn't really complain. _Much_.

Her older sister, Julita, called her on Tuesday, just to have a little chat. It's not like they spoke two days before, and she'd _just_ gotten her ass back to her dorm room, 'nough said. But Santana ended up fucking telling her all about Rachel anyway, and how they'd been hanging out lately. Sure, her family had noticed during break that neither Quinn nor Brittany had been to the house, which was very weird since they were used to seeing the latter all the damn time (that was her brother's words, not hers). The Lopezes had not only realised this, but also quickly grasped that Santana was hanging out with _someone else_ during their weeks off.

Of course Santana had wormed her way out of all the questions somehow, by being completely vague and irritating, but she just wasn't ready to tell anyone that she'd kind of – sort of – made a new friend. They knew her, and they knew she had problems letting people in, so they'd go all apeshit the second they found out, and her mother would haul Berry over there for a big messy family brunch, which the Latina was pretty sure the singer wasn't ready for. Instead she decided to wait and just tell her sister when they were miles apart. She knew Julita wouldn't call her parents to tell on her either, because they were the girls of the family, and they'd always stuck together. Santana fucking missed her after she left for college this year.

But they spent a frigging hour talking about Berry and her weirdness, and Santana didn't even realise she was rambling before her sister told her she couldn't wait to meet this new girl. It must've been pretty evident in Santana's voice that perhaps the other girl was to stay in her life for a while, and Julita immediately started teasing her younger sister for getting a new crush. Which totally wasn't fucking true. Santana Lopez _did not_ get crushes. Especially not on tiny midgets with huge voices and hot asses. Just sayin'. Though her sister was the only one who actually _knew_ the entire story to Santana and Brittany's relationship, she'd never told their parents about that either. So of course that gave her rights to mock, even if Santana told her to shut the fuck up.

They weren't quite sure if it would even be acceptable to come out to her parents about her and Brittany. That was part of why she ended up pushing the other girl away. A lot of Latina families had no tolerance for those kind of things – but then again, a lot of them were totally cool about it. Santana just hadn't been able to peg her own family in there yet, but she was working on it. Julita said to just go ahead and tell their parents she had a tendency to fuck girls too. Santana was sure that'd go down exceptionally well.

But it wasn't like there was any girl in the picture anyway, even if Julita wouldn't shut up about Berry.

On Wednesday Santana was digging into her lunch (a simple salad, thank you, Sue Sylvester) at a table by herself. She did not have the patience to either deal with Gleeks or gossiping cheerleaders, so she'd snatched a table for herself, sort of hoping that maybe Rachel would see her and come join her. But that wasn't even happening, because the diva was on the other side of the cafeteria, squeezed in between Puck and Mike – at a table full of the usual suspects.

But imagine the frigging surprise she felt, when Quinn smashed her tray onto the table, right opposite of her, and sat down with a huge sigh. She looked at Santana as if this wasn't anything out of the ordinary, and said, "So. Tell me about this Berry thing."

Santana thought she saw a bit of apprehension cross the other girl's face, but she seriously loved her for trying. So she continued to tell her about their trip to the mall and Rachel's cool fathers, and when Quinn made a comment about something or other, she actually found herself laughing out loud right there with her best friend. It felt _nice_. It wasn't the good ol' times, but they were definitely getting there, they were making the effort.

Puck proceeded to sext her relentlessly on Thursday. It must've been a while since he'd gotten any, Santana believed, because he was very persistent and wouldn't take no for an answer. Not that he'd ever had to from her before, which might be why he kept on trying. But she honestly didn't want to sleep with him. They'd always been amazing in bed together, but she was starting to come to terms with the fact that she might possibly not really be all that straight. Out of all the sexual partners she'd had in her life, there was only one person who _meant_ anything to her. And that just happened to be Brittany. Wasn't that a sign of some sort? She wasn't really sure.

All she knew was that she continued to text him to fuck off, and he continued to try. She just did not want to go back there with him, even if it was usually hot. She didn't want to spend her Thursday evening in his room and then having to dodge his mother and sister as she made a run for it. _Besides_. The Berrys had invited her over for dinner anyway, so it was not like she was free.

Friday she drove away from cheerleading practice with sore feet and an aching back, and she seriously just felt like dying because Coach Sylvester had forced them to repeat a particularly difficult part of their routine over and over, because those stupid new freshmen Cheerios continued to mess up. It wasn't going to take Sylvester many more messed-up practices to place Santana further up in the pyramid, which was always something.

She drove straight to the Berry household, because her overnight bag was packed and she'd be spending her second night with the crazies. She'd told her mother she was staying with a friend, and she'd given her this look, this 'I want to know more, but I'm gonna let it slide for a while'-look, and Santana had thanked the good Lord for getting her off the hook for even just a day or two.

It was going to be a good evening, Santana felt, because since Rachel had _forced _her to watch that stupid musical on Monday (the lesbians were totally hot, mind you) it was now her turn to pick a film. She'd packed all her lessie films into her bag and was determined to continue this theme with the other girl. It's not like she had a lot of films like that anyway, she only had one or two.. or possibly ten or twenty, but who was keeping count anyway? She surely wasn't.

However, the Latina felt that it might possibly be a little difficult enjoying anything when she practically stumbled out of her car because she frigging hurt _everywhere_. It was putting a damper on her mood, and not even Rachel's giant smile when she opened the door, could cheer her up.

The diva's face fell immediately. "Santana, you look absolutely disastrous! Was it a tough cheerleading practice? Are you feeling alright? I can see that you're in pain – do you mind telling me where you're hurting? I could help you by-"

Santana groaned something and continued to block out the other girl's rant, as she staggered into the living room and threw herself onto the couch with a huge sigh of relief. Now, this was a good sofa; it was soft in all the right places, and the pillow she was currently drooling on? Yes, it smelled like everything she associated with the Berrys and that was for some reason quite soothing.

Rachel plopped down by her feet and gently squeezed herself in between the couch and Santana's dead-weight legs. Apparently she'd realised that no one was listening to all her suggestions, so she'd shut up and was instead letting her fingers draw tiny circles on the Latina's calves. She'd decided to ignore the winter weather by venturing home in her cheerleading outfit, and right now, she humoured that decision, because Rachel's fingers on her legs – they felt pretty damn good.

"Ooh..." Santana groaned into the pillow, when Rachel's finger brushed against a particularly sore spot. "Oh man, that feels _so good_."

The other girl huffed in response to that. "I would love to give that Sue Sylvester a piece of my mind about working you cheerleaders so hard! She's going to ruin your bodies for you in the future. You might not feel it now, but when you're forty, and you have horrible back-pains, you're going to think about her and her horrendous routines! You know why I choose to have my books in that rolling bag of mine? It's certainly not because it's fashionable – though I do have a small affinity with pink, it's a _lovely _colour – it's simply because I know how much books weight and if I want to make it on Broadway, I can't have ruined my back as a teenager. That's why I also remind you all of proper posture, it's not _just _because it looks good – though if I have to admit it, it _is_ much more appealing when someone sits up straight – it's also because it's healthier, and I-"

Santana blocked the diva out once more, and simply enjoyed the feeling of her strong fingers as they worked their way up and down her legs. She was doing it absently as she talked, but it felt damn good to get some pressure on those knots. And Rachel's fingers were quite skilled. Santana knew she played both the guitar and the piano (she just never did in Glee, because she couldn't give up the spotlight for just a second), and it was evident that she was used to working her fingers for all kind of purposes. During a momentary brain lapse, Santana found herself wondering _what else_ Rachel's fingers might be good at.

And suddenly, a much different sound erupted from the pit of her stomach, and it came out all too wrong; all too sexual, "_Oh!_"

If the singer noticed anything, she didn't let it on, but Santana figured that that was probably enough massage for now, so she withdrew her legs and sat up (even though her back was still killing her). She couldn't risk letting Rachel know that though, Santana really didn't want to find out what sounds she could make if the diva worked on the giant knots she had between her shoulder blades.

"By the way," Rachel smiled then, slowly sliding her hand across the sofa to place it on top of Santana's, which was just lying there to support her body-weight, "Dad and Daddy have that functioning at Dad's work, so we'll just have to order in."

Santana nodded, absently chewing her lower lip. She couldn't really get the tingly feeling to leave her legs. Was that weird?

The brunette stood up then, moving past Santana towards the kitchen. "You want something to drink, I reckon? Cheerleading must have dehydrated you completely. I also took the liberty of making a few lists of possible entertainment ideas for our evening, if you would like to read them, I could just run upstairs and get them for you?"

The Latina gaped at the other girl. "You did not make a list of things to do tonight!"

"But I did." Rachel babbled, the most adorable look adorning her face then. "It's called _Rachel and Santana's Night of Fun: Ideas for Organized Entertainment. _Or for short, you know, RSNF: IOE. It's not the most fulfilling abbreviation, but as I am still working on the details, I'm positive that I will come up with a better title."

Santana groaned loudly and fell back into the cushion of the couch, closing her eyes. Seriously. _Seriously_. This was what her evenings had come to? Really? How would she rather do this than hang out with Brittany and Quinn like they usually would? What had happened to her? "Forget your stupid list, Tiny," she spat, and when Rachel gasped, Santana shot her a glare, "bring me something to drink and pick a movie out of my bag, and let's have some _real_ fun."

Rachel stomped her foot into the carpet like the true diva, she is. "I will not be your servant, Santana Lopez!" she huffed, kicking it once more for good measure, "But as you are, unfortunately, rather sore this afternoon, I will obey to your wishes for once and bring you your requests."

Santana smiled warmly to herself and got settled even more comfortably into the couch. She totally had this thing with Berry _down_. Who was calling the shots, huh? She didn't see the diva demanding _her_ to do things. This friendship was totally working out for her benefit. Plus, Rachel just looked all sorts of cute when she got worked up over something.

_Huh? Rachel? Cute? _Santana scratched her nose. _I must be more worn out by Cheerios practice than I thought. _

Rachel threw the duffel bag onto Santana's lap and placed two full glasses on the coffee table. "Pick your film yourself, Satana." she firmly said, before she took a seat on the couch with crossed arms.

The Latina chuckled lowly to herself and rummaged through her bag with much effort, searching for a particular film. She thought she'd educate Berry a little, let her in on some good gay movies, and she wanted to start with one that wasn't quite new. She smiled to herself when she found _The Incredible True Adventure of Two Girls in Love_ and shoved it at the other girl. Grabbing her cell phone from the bag too, she pushed it onto the floor, not caring that half of its contents scrambled out of it.

The diva raised a questioning eyebrow in her direction, but didn't say anything. She just got off the couch and got the DVD settled in the player, before she took a seat on the sofa again; this time a _little bit_ closer to Santana – not that the Latina noticed or anything. Rachel's bare thigh was just sort of brushing up against her bare thigh. Not that she really _cared_.

Flipping her phone open, Santana realised that she had three texts from Puck. She rolled her eyes at his childishness, because she simply couldn't let it go that she was not interested in fucking him tonight either. Or any day for that matter. Quickly typing out a reply, telling him that she was busy for the entire weekend, Santana turned the attention back to the screen.

Rachel gasped. "That's Tina from _The L Word_!"

Hold the phone! Santana was confused. Did Berry know what _The L Word _was? She hit the other girl lightly on the leg. "You watch _The L Word_?"

A slight blush crept up Rachel's cheeks. "I have all the seasons in my room. I do find the amount of sex disturbing, but the characters have really great story-lines."

Santana's eyes couldn't quite leave the other girl, even when Rachel turned her attention back to the screen. However, when her phone buzzed, the Latina turned her eyes to that. It was Puck – _of course_. He wanted to know what she was fucking doing, since she fucking couldn't fuck him.

_hangin out w rachel all w/e _

He was quick to reply.

_WTF ? _

Santana bit her lip to keep herself from laughing, just as another text buzzed in.

_just kidn. i no u r friends now. its weird_

Santana was a total ass and sent nothing but a smiley face back in return. She then tucked her phone into her lap and leaned slightly over, her shoulder brushing Rachel's. It was a total accident, to be honest, she was just adjusting in her seat. She'd seen this movie at least twenty times, so in hindsight, it probably wasn't the best choice if she wanted to focus on something other than Rachel, but done was done, and now she felt her eyes moving over the diva's face more than the screen. Just because – seriously – Rachel was prettier than those two girls. She had this sort of aura around her, even when she was being all quiet and un-Rachel-like. Santana liked her as this, too. She had a feeling that not many people ever witnessed this side of the singer.

She looked down when her phone buzzed yet again.

_havin a small party tonite instead. bring rachel n booze. 8 oclock _

Santana paused as she took in the idea of a small party. And when Puck said 'small party' he usually meant it – his mother wouldn't allow him to throw the huge bashes he did last year, not after Beth. It was probably just going to be a few of his best friends, and they'd get drunk and have fun. She could be drunk and have fun, even if her back was still sore. She figured a hot shower would take care of most of that.

Turning to Rachel, Santana nudged her gently on the arm. "You wanna go to a party, Tiny?"

**x **

'Small party' most definitely meant small party this evening. They weren't more than eight people gathered in Puck's basement, but that didn't make it any less fun – they were just hanging out. It was all the 'popular' Gleeks, _plus_ Rachel. She was the only original Gleek down there, but if she felt uneasy about it, she definitely didn't show it.

Santana was squeezed into the couch between the armrest and Quinn, and next to Quinn sat Brittany, who had let Artie attend some family birthday on his own, because they really weren't ready for that sort of thing. Sam sat in the chair across from them, never one to leave Quinn out of his sight for more than three seconds, tops. On the table between them was booze and pretzels, and some sliced fruit that Rachel must've prepared while Santana was soaking in the tub. Conversation was light and easy, and not as restrained as it had been lately, and that was mostly because Quinn had been trying really hard, and talking about the Cheerios and Sue Sylvester had never been a problem for them. So they were arguing about the new routine, and occasionally Brittany would throw in her two cents, while Sam just looked bored and kept casting small glances towards the other side of the room, where Mike and Finn were battling in some of sort of shooting game on Puck's Xbox.

Rachel and Puck were talking quietly together by the laptop that Puck had sat up for the evening. Rachel had gone to change a song, and Puck had tried to stop her (which everyone appreciated, thank you very much), but for some reason, they never got to the part where they moved away from the laptop and joined the others again. They were standing close together, whispering to each other, and the smile on Rachel's face made Santana feel entirely uncomfortable. She wasn't the only one either (Finn was shooting daggers in their direction on every possible occasion).

Santana was nursing her wine cooler and absent-mindedly participating in her conversation with Quinn. But she couldn't help but let her eyes wander over to Puck and Rachel. They were just too touchy-feely, too comfortable together, and it made her feel uneasy. She knew how Puck was when he got something to drink, and she knew how he'd take some girl up to his room and have a bit of fun. And she also _knew_ that he was feeling rather horny these days, if his texts were any indication. But should she be worried for Rachel? She knew they had history, but they also seemed to be in a place where they were truly just friends. Still.. she couldn't help but remind herself that these two somehow always found a way back to each other, so there must be a mutual attraction. And she just didn't want Rachel to do something she'd regret.

That was the only reason, of course. It didn't really matter that, when Rachel leaned up and pegged Puck lightly on the lips, Santana just felt like squeezing her bottle until the glass shattered.

When a familiar tune came out of the small speakers, Brittany's face lit up completely, and she bounced off of the couch and proceeded to demand Mike he danced with her. He was getting his ass kicked anyway, so he told Sam to take over, and soon Brittany and Mike were showing off impromptu dance skills in the small confines of the basement, and Santana was left alone with Quinn.

"You seem happier lately." Quinn observed in her tipsy state, and when Santana tore her eyes away from Rachel and Puck to look at the blonde, she continued. "I'm glad."

Santana took a sip of her bottle and shrugged. "I don't know. I think it just took me a while to really get over this shit with Britt. I'm thinking that maybe it's time to work on our friendship soon."

That was the good thing about Quinn. They could talk about this shit with each other. Of course it was never safe to say that it wouldn't somehow bite them in the ass one day, but they'd always told each other shit. And maybe if they actually started treating each other better, then they'd be sure that things stayed just between the two of them. It'd be nice to have that with someone.

Quinn nodded. "I can see that Berry makes you happier. I don't get it, and I don't really like it. But how can I argue with it? You haven't smiled in such a long time unless it was on other people's expense."

Santana knew this was true. She also knew that she'd found herself smiling more and more, especially when the diva threw one of her fits or rambled on or – or said or did things that other people would call weird. All those things, they were just so _Rachel_ and for some reason they comforted the Latina so much.

"Santana!"

The two cheerleaders looked up, only to find Rachel dragging Puck across the room to the table. His giant hand was tugged inside her little one, and Santana hated to admit it, but the two Jews looked fucking good together.

Rachel stopped in front of them with an expectant look on her face. "Would you please explain to Noah that I'm more than capable of having fun?" she questioned, dropping his hand and placing her hands on her hips instead. She looked like a pissed-off dwarf in an argyle sweater, but it was cute.

Quinn giggled madly next to her, and Santana knew it was because she and Sam had once again brought red wine, and she'd practically finished the bottle by herself.

The Latina took another sip of her wine cooler. "'S true, Puck."

Rachel's beam could practically light up the entire room, and Puck just groaned and sat down on the chair that Sam had left vacant, before pulling the diva onto his lap. She placed an arm around his shoulder and looked entirely too comfortable there. Santana's throat tightened.

"Well fuck me." Puck mumbled, scratching his face.

Santana said, "Been there, done that!" just as Rachel mumbled, "No thank you.", and this caused Quinn to break out into more giggles. She was seriously buzzed. Santana found it hilarious.

Puck shook his head at his fellow Jew. "You're just saying that because I haven't _really_ put my moves on you yet. If I did, you'd be putty in my hands. All girls are."

Rachel sighed heavily and patted his chest with her fingertips, "Noah, you're incorrigible." she murmured, and the 'what the fuck?'-look on Puck's face told Santana he didn't know what the word meant either. "Girls don't swoon over you because of your moves. Your moves are rather stupid, to be perfectly honest. They don't work. Girls like you because you have a pretty face and your arms are lovely."

Santana had to agree with her on that one. Of all the moves Puck had ever put on her, none of them had been convincing. Mostly because he just usually typed a time and a place in a text and sent it her way. He'd never actually had to woo a girl for anything, which might be why he sucked ass at it.

But Puck, of course, disagreed with Rachel. "My moves _so_ work! Girls love it when I talk to them like that."

The diva shook her head, her lips puckering slightly. "No Noah, they really don't. Let me tell you, girls actually find your compliments rather crass and immature. They do nothing to help you, if anything, they work against you."

"Oh, do they really?" Puck asked her with a cocked eyebrow. It was easy to tell that he was very amused.

Biting her lip, Rachel seemed to think it over for a few seconds. Then she jumped off his lap and moved around the table to stand next to Santana. "Watch and learn, Noah Puckerman." she informed him with inferiority, "This is me, being you, putting the moves on Santana. You'll see how ridiculous it seems."

Santana glanced at the girl in amusement. She was being Puck now? That could only end well.

The diva straightened her back for a second, before she fell into character, completely pulling one of Puck's usual smirks onto her face. They didn't really work in the badass-way though, because on her, it just looked plain cute. She slouched forward and gently trailed a hand up Santana's arm, before letting her lips hover inches from the Latina's. She breathed out deeply as she pulled back, and with the smirk in place, the words left her lips. "Nice shoes. Wanna fuck?"

And that's how Santana, Quinn and Puck doubled over in laughter, and Rachel just stood there, completely confused as to what was so funny at all. She glanced at them, mouth agape, and this just made Santana laugh even harder. She knew the girl had been deeply serious regarding her performance, but those words, leaving those lips – it was too much to take.

"You know what?" Rachel questioned then, crossing her arms firmly across her chest with a huff. "It's not funny, and you're being stupid." she proceeded to smack Puck loudly across the chest, before she turned on her heel and walked towards the staircase. "I'm going to go up and change into your clothes, Noah, and then I'm going to prove to everyone in this room that I can _be_ you." she informed, before she climbed the stairs.

Puck's eyes widened immediately, and though Santana had a feeling that Rachel had been in his room on several occasions, he shot out of his seat and ran to follow her. Quinn was still giggling madly when the door smacked close on top of the staircase. Santana found the entire situation hilarious too, and as she thought about it even more, she felt pretty sure that Puck and Rachel were just like best friends, which she was sure that both of them needed.

Quinn's cold hand grasped her arm tightly and their eyes locked. "I can see what you mean," she whispered, her breath tingling across the Latina's face and a whiff of alcohol shooting her way. "she's pretty fun. She has a weird sense of humour."

Santana felt a small smile tug on her lips as the words left Quinn's mouth. She knew that Quinn and Rachel would never be best friends, too much shit had happened between them (hello – they'd _always_ wanted the same guys!), but wouldn't it be nice if Quinn and Rachel could stand each other, so they could all hang out and do shit? If she made up with Brittany, it'd be like the good ol' times, except Rachel would be there too, which seemed to make it even better. She knew that Brittany and Rachel had never had anything against each other, so on that side, they were good to go.

The only thing holding all of this back was the fact that she'd yet to talk to Brittany. She felt like she was _ready_ for it – somehow. That she was finally in a place where things would go back to normal if she put in a little effort and talked to the blonde girl. She knew that Brittany would never come to her, because she probably didn't understand the situation entirely, but if she sat down and discussed everything with her... she'd get her best friend back.

And she was truly ready to have her friendship, and _only_ her friendship. She wasn't lying when she told Quinn that she thought that Brittany and Artie were good together, because she really did. She could see that he was good for her, and that Brittany got everything she wanted out of the relationship, which pleased the Latina more than anything. Now that she was pass feeling so hurt everytime she looked at the blonde girl, she could admit that she just wanted Brittany to be happy and get what she deserved. Which was the entire world, at least in Santana's eyes.

All eyes in the basement turned to the staircase when the door was smacked open and Puck appeared on the top of them, Rachel tossed carelessly over his shoulder. She was kicking and screaming, and Puck was chuckling like this had just made his day, and his hand was on her ass, and even though Santana didn't like it, she still thought it was okay, because at least her panties weren't on display for everyone to see. He staggered down the staircase, wobbling a bit on his legs because of the alcohol and the fact that he had to do it with Rachel on top of him.

"Noah!" Rachel continued to smack her tiny fists against the lower side of his back, and Santana laughed when Puck did a proud walk around the room to show off his catch. "_Unhand me this instant_!"

Oh shit, she really meant _business_. Santana and Quinn laughed again, but Puck let her go, placing her gently on her feet on the floor. He smiled sheepishly at her, and she was fuming. Turning on her heel, she moved towards the others; Sam and Finn were still battling each other, and Mike and Brittany was cheering them on. Santana could hear Rachel ask Sam if he'd please be kind enough to teach her the basics of the game. Sam shot her a confused look but continued to explain the different buttons and their functions to her.

Puck feel into the chair once more and kicked back, his feet resting on the table. "What's up? You girls good?" he asked them. Many things could be said about Puck, but he definitely knew what was going on around the Glee Club – especially if it was regarding Quinn.

Quinn merely nodded and leaned back against the couch. "We have been talking about Berry and Santana."

His eyes moved to Santana briefly as he nodded. "Yeah, I've noticed you guys have been hanging out. Rach told me all about it. You cool with her now, S?"

The Latina nodded. She got this weird protective-vibe from Puck right about now, and she didn't know what to read into it. "She's great."

Puck smiled. "I know. That's what I've been saying all along. Just remember, I might have known you longer, but she's my girl, so you better treat her good!"

Quinn scoffed next to them. "You make it sound like they're dating each other, Puck." she seemed to find the idea hilarious, because she couldn't stop the giggles. "S may have been with B, but I highly doubt that she'd date Treas- _Berry_."

Santana could feel warmth flooding towards her face, so she took a long sip of her bottle to cover for it. When she lowered it again, Puck's eyes were still on her, and Quinn was busy playing with a loose hem on her baby doll top. "We're not dating, we're just friends." she spat, nudging her shoulder lightly with Quinn's. But she didn't bother to pretend to be disgusted by the idea, because Berry was her friend, and friends don't do that shit.

Puck picked up a handful of chips, his eyes still firmly set on her; she could feel them prickling into her skin. "You never know, Q, Santana could have her sights on _anyone_."

Santana felt the need to share this look with him, so she finally let her eyes meet his. And the look that she got? It totally told her that he knew what was happening, that she wasn't just imaging stupid looks and weird feelings in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't! ...but was it possible? Could it really be – was there _something more_ than just friendship between them? And if there was – what the fuck did she do about it? She let her eyes move from Puck's to where Rachel was, perched on the armrest of Sam's chair, her tiny fingers moving over the controller as he guided her. She was totally losing, if the look on her face was any indication at all, but Santana could tell that she was having fun.

Quinn snorted next to her. "Do you, S?"

Wiping the look on her face she automatically got whenever she watched Rachel, Santana turned to glare at Quinn, "Fuck no."

She couldn't help but feel that she was – perhaps – lying to herself a little bit. The look on Puck's face? It told her that he totally knew it, too.

**x**

Somehow they ended up making out on Rachel's bed all afternoon the next day. Santana had no idea how it happened (okay, maybe she did a little bit), but she just knew that it was fucking good. Rachel's lips were all over her, and she was a good kisser; she used the right amount of pressure and tongue, and Santana found the taste of her lips fucking brilliant, and the chapstick she used made them all soft and not rough like, let's say, Puck's.

Her hands were getting tangled roughly in Rachel's long locks, and it was forever since Santana had been able to run her hands over the smooth curve of a thigh or waist. It was amazing to her; a woman's curve compared to a man's rough body. And Rachel's fingers were eager and tantalizing as they sought out Santana's body, scurrying above skin tight jeans and across her stomach.

The Latina's heart was beating wildly against her chest, and she had no idea why the feel or Rachel Berry sucking hard on her neck made her feel something she hadn't felt in a very long time. And what was that between her legs? She could have totally taken this further, and for some reason, that realisation wasn't as scary as she thought it'd be.

_How did I end up here, again? _

Oh yeah. She'd gotten a buzzed Rachel home last night safely, walking through the town from Puck's house, as she giggled and clung to Santana, singing a startling rendition of _Push It!_ as they went. Santana was reminded of the Glee Club's hot-as-ass show when they sang this, and couldn't get the imagine of Berry's knee-pads out of her head. And then Rachel had grasped her closer, suddenly, and they were chin to nose, and Santana had thought that it was fucking nice to be the tall one for once.

"You're so much tinier than Brittany." she'd whispered against Berry's forehead, and felt the girl tighten her grip around her body, her arms encircling the waist of the taller girl.

Rachel's breathing had been all erratic and it'd flushed against Santana's skin, leaving a trail of delicious goosebumps behind as it went. Santana had been past the point of fucking caring, even though the idea that she – fuck it! - found Rachel Berry just the tiniest bit attractive scared the living daylights out of her. What hadn't the world come to?

"Why are you comparing me to Brittany?" Rachel had murmured, and somehow her fingers had sought beneath Santana's warm winter coat and towards her lower back.

The Latina had sucked a hard breath of air in at this point. "I was always the little one. When we kissed, I had to lean up."

She'd bit her lip then, as their eyes locked. "You wanna kiss me?"

Santana hadn't been fucking sure why that was, but she'd nodded anyway, and their lips had met and it was like these sort of fireworks went off, because it was hot and quick and even though Santana hadn't thought much about it, it was like she'd waited for this exact moment in _forever_, and now that it was happening, all sorts of feelings were erupting everywhere, and she didn't know why, but she thought that maybe things were going to be okay – this didn't _mean _anything special, they could decide what for themselves, who said anything had to change just because kissing Rachel Berry made her feel happier than she'd felt in a fucking long time?

And so the next morning they'd woken up and nursed their hangovers and danced around each other in the kitchen while they had brunch with her fathers, and Santana had thought about everything Puck had said, and fuck it, did she really have her eyes on Rachel Berry? She hadn't noticed it, but these sort of things had a way of sneaking up on her. It was exactly like that with Brittany too, and one day – _bam!_ - they'd been making out and things had escalated from there. Except Rachel Berry wasn't fucking Brittany S. Pierce, those girls were different as can be.

But fuckety fucking fuck. What if she did really have her eyes on Rachel? Would that be a problem?

She'd thought she'd just ask her, see how things were with the other girl, what she thought about it, but then when they went upstairs after brunch, Rachel had barely closed her door, before she'd tackled Santana to the bed, and so, there they were.

Shit. There they _were_.

_She fucking wanted Rachel Berry. _

If the moisture between her thighs was any indication at all, she wanted her more than she'd first assumed. After Puck's stupid look last night, she'd thought that maybe she'd just not had any for a very long time and she was horny, and confused because sometimes the line between friendship and more could get pretty blurred with her, but then she'd thought about Quinn, and she'd never fucking looked at her and thought that she was cute, or that her legs were long and tan (they fucking weren't, Quinn's legs were short and pale), so maybe it was a serious Rachel Berry thing.

But did she want to date her? No. She fucking didn't want crazy Cat Calenders and dates and a high-maintenance girlfriend. She'd never had a relationship and she didn't want one. But still – it felt good to kiss Rachel. It felt sort of... awesome, really.

Pulling away from her, Rachel's breathing trailed across her neck to her lips, and they locked their eyes. "I'm sorry. I couldn't help kissing you again." the singer whispered, moving a finger over to gently brush a piece of Santana's hair away from her face.

Santana chuckled. "Don't say you're sorry, Tiny. I'm just not sure what all this means. I mean – we're friends."

Rachel bit her lip in thought and Santana couldn't help but want to do it herself. Shit was frigging hot. "Right." the brunette whispered, her breath once more ghosting over Santana's face. "We're friends." she stated, before she pulled away from her, and rolled onto her back, their bodies flush against each other.

The Latina couldn't help but think that that was a pretty dumb move, because having Rachel on top of her was nice and she wasn't at all too heavy. "I don't want this to ruin anything between us." Santana heard herself murmur. She had no idea where this came from, and why she was being all stupidly sweet, but she was concerned, honestly. She knew that as soon as she'd crossed this line with Brittany, their friendship was history, and now she'd have to build the entire thing up once more. And she liked having Rachel around (shut up), she didn't want to lose that. She was sure that the other girl was the reason she was finally starting to feel more like herself again.

She wanted to fucking murder Puck, the frigging assclown, and have him decapitated for planting shit-ass ideas in her head about wanting Rachel Berry. What good could possibly come out of that?

Rachel turned her head to look at her, "It hasn't Santana, don't worry. We're friends." she whispered, before she placed a chaste kiss on her cheek and got off the bed. Standing up, she looked at her with a strained smile. "What should we do today? Tonight?"

Santana sat up in bed and couldn't help but notice the weird feeling between the two of them. The room was loaded with tension and she wanted nothing more than to go home and either a) take a chilling, cold shower, or b) rub one out because she was fucking turned on. She swallowed and looked at the clock on Rachel's bedside table. "I should probably get home, Tiny... I can't stay the night, I have family brunch tomorrow."

A painful look of realisation spread fast across the diva's face, and Santana hated that she was the cause of it. "Oh... okay." she whispered, before turning around to go into the bathroom. She closed the door behind her and turned the lock.

The cheerleader realised that her leaving could probably be interpreted as something entirely else in the other girl's eyes. She probably thought she was feeling awkward and weird about what occurred between them, and she _was_, but... she really did have brunch tomorrow, and she just needed to _think_. (She wasn't sure about what).

Pulling herself off the bed, she gathered all her things (they'd somehow managed to spread themselves all over the diva's room during the course of one day) and stuffed them into her overnight bag. Hesitating, she knocked gently on the door into the bathroom. "I'll see you on Monday, Rach." she could feel the name get stuck in her throat, and she leaned her head against the closed door. "We should hang out after ballet again. If you want to?"

There was something wrong with them now. That kiss had just ruined _everything_.

The lock turned on the bathroom door, and Santana managed to stand up straight, before Rachel pulled the door open. A tiny, insecure smile played across her lips as she said "Really?" with such a little voice, that was just loaded with hurt and feelings and shit.

"We're friends, right?" Santana nudged her with her foot.

"_Right_." Rachel just agreed, once more confirming to Santana that something wasn't sitting right with her.

Hoisting her back onto her shoulder, the Latina threw the girl a wave. "Bye Tiny." she mumbled, before she headed for the closed bedroom door. She couldn't help the feeling in the pit of her stomach – she simply could _not_ ignore it – it felt like her entire world just shifted, and she had _no_ idea why.

* * *

_Phew. That was good to get out! I hope you liked this chapter – a lot of good stuff happened. As you can probably tell, this does not mean they're together or anything, because that would just be boring ;-) I want to thank you so much for all your support on the last chapter, and I'm sorry if I offended anyone about my incorrect description of ballet; everything's fixed now, so I hope you can all forgive me for my mistake. _

_And also, text language or whatever? Totally not my thing, especially not when it's in English. I get confused easily, but I did give it a try in this chapter, so sorry if it seems ridiculous, lol! _

_On another note – chapters might be further apart now, since school just started up with long-ass days, and it's going to be difficult to write during the week. Plus, I still have my other story I need to work on as well. But I absolutely love writing this fiction, and it's most definitely my main priority right now. _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or Take Me Or Leave Me. Neither do I own 'Two Girls in Love' or 'The L Word' (does owning the DVDs count for anything?). _


	8. You've Got a Prize

**Chapter Eight **

**You've Got a Prize...**

She was freaking. the. _fuck_. out.

Like seriously. She didn't think she'd ever been this freaked out about anything in her entire life before. She'd fucking _kissed_ Rachel Berry. And then run out afterwards. Not only had she kissed _Rachel Berry_ and run out afterwards, but she'd ignored every attempt the other girl had done to contact her since late Saturday afternoon.

What was the matter with her? Really?

They were friends. Above everything else, they'd actually manage to endure each other and become _friends_. Santana was painfully aware that that was what they were (even if she'd never say it to anyone – like _ever_), yet she still proceeded to make out with the girl and then bolt. Something really had to be wrong with her. And now she was confused, and she was pretty sure Rachel was pissed. Rachel usually didn't take rejection too well.

Santana gulped at the thought. Did this mean she was going to hear a horrible break-up song in Glee now? Like when Rachel was pissed at Finnocence and belted out _Gives You Hell_? Not that they had broken up or anything, because they weren't even together. They were just friends. And it was okay for friends to ignore other friends during certain times when they were just hanging out with their family. Rachel had no reason to be pissed, like, at all.

But the Latina would bet her extensions and false eyelashes that she was. Which said a lot, really.

The scary thing was that she felt like she knew her well enough now to even want to bet _anything_ on whichever reaction Rachel may or may not have. Her life was seriously fucking shit. Just exactly what was she supposed to do now then? She'd kissed Rachel Berry, run out and ignored her. Shit was screwed up. Especially because she accidentally happened to be thinking a little too much about those kissable red lips during their family brunch. It was completely unintentional, she just caught sight of 'Tiny' flashing across her cell phone's screen with that ridiculous picture from the dress store beneath it, and while she hit ignore, she somehow caught hot flashes of full lips and roaming hands, and what the fuck did that mean, anyway? She'd had to excuse herself to the bathroom to make the fluster go away.

They were _friends_. Sure, she could maybe admit to herself (a little bit) that she sometimes – on _very rare_ occasions – found Rachel just a fraction hotter than she used to. Except that was a total lie, and when she was being honest with herself (and honesty really messed with her head) she had to admit that maybe – possibly – she'd checked the other girl out a little bit. During few selected times. It didn't mean fucking shit.

Except it _did_.

But what was she supposed to do now, though? She'd been at Cheerios practice and everything, and Quinn and Brittany had been all excited about the party last Friday, and Quinn had even talked about Berry and how maybe she wasn't too bad, and if Santana really wanted it, she could try to be nicer to her. (Santana didn't give a frigging frack about that right now, she had more important things to worry about). Eventually, Quinn must've noticed that Santana wasn't really paying much attention, because she asked what was wrong. And now, if Quinn had been Rachel and Santana had made out with another one of her female friends, the Latina would have totally told her all about it. Berry got that shit – she listened, and she sure as hell didn't judge. But Quinn wasn't her, and it just so happened that Berry was the girl Santana made out with, so who could she tell?

That's right, bitches. No one. She could tell absolutely no one, which was why she was still going pretty much insane. She couldn't really concentrate in any of her classes (not that that shit mattered anyway), and Rachel was scouting the hallways, and Santana totally wasn't a chicken, but she _might've_ run into a Cheerios locker room or two, just so she wouldn't have to talk to her yet.

She had no idea how things were gonna go down in Glee, and most definitely not afterwards, because she'd promised Berry to hang out with her after ballet. She had had the best intentions, really, when she told Rachel that they were good and that they were friends, and that everything was normal. But shit really wasn't normal, and Santana could tell. But if it wasn't normal, then what the fuck was it?

She was gonna have to get out of that after ballet-thing.

Ducking her head to look at her phone beneath her table in Calculus, Santana scrolled through her phone and deleted all the texts Rachel had sent her way between classes. Logging onto Facebook, she realised that her inbox was filled with private messages from the diva as well (Santana still hadn't accepted her friends request, hehe), so she decided to just sort of check them out. She soon regretted that when she read the first one.

_Santana Lopez! I am tired of being ignored by you. Would you please have the curtsey to reply to me somehow? You owe me at least THAT much. However, if you do not, I will take desperate measures into use, and I have prepared a heartbreaking rendition of 'Unusual Way' from the Broadway hit musical 'Nine'. I will sing this in front of our friends in Glee Club this afternoon if you have yet to answer me. I do realise that what happened between us on Saturday must have confused you a lot, but we cannot possibly move on from it if we do not discuss it. I have come to care about you a lot, Santana, and I will not let you push me away like this. Rachel Berry * _

Her eyes were almost popping out of her head, when Santana scrambled to type a text out to the other girl. There was no way she was being serenaded by the other girl in front of all of their friends and Mr. Schue. _No way in hell_. She'd just have to ease the diva's mind for a while and figure out how to deal with this once school was over.

_relax berry, im replying u now. well tlk aftr skool_

She pressed 'send' just as the bell rang, signalling the end of last period. Santana gathered her things together with a sigh and followed right behind Lauren as she made her way through the halls to the choir room. Of course Rachel was already sitting front and centre when she entered, and Santana resisted to roll her eyes when the diva offered her a tentative smile and relaxed slightly. She must've feared Santana was going to make a run for it, and to be honest, it had crossed the Latina's mind.

She took a seat as far away from Rachel as possible and was happy when Quinn took the seat next to her, with Brittany right in front of her. It felt nice to have them there, like when they were younger, and would protect each other without question. Quinn was shooting her worried glances while Rachel kept looking her way with huge doe eyes, and Brittany was pretty much oblivious to the entire thing. She seemed pretty focused on counting the freckles on her arms, actually.

Glee Club was hell for Santana, but nice for everyone else. Rachel was thoroughly distracted and not once did she raise her hand or correct anyone when they said or did something wrong. Mercedes looked like she was in Heaven, but Puck was shooting his fellow Jew very worried glances, and though Mr. Schuester was probably thrilled to be able to do his job himself for once, he couldn't hide the looks he sent her way, either. Rachel didn't notice anything, because she was looking at Santana, and when she wasn't looking at Santana, she was scribbling furiously in her star-decorated notebook. And she most definitely wasn't taking notes to the class at hand, because it was particularly boring and they were just working on ideas for Regionals.

When Mr. Schuester finally let them all leave, Rachel shot out of her seat and started hovering around the piano, while Santana took her sweet time, trying to get Rachel to leave for ballet without talking to her. It's not like she wanted to ignore the other girl, she just – she just needed time. It wasn't easy to figure out why she'd done what she'd done, so excuse her for needing to think. But the diva was not giving up, and as Quinn left the room as the last person but the two of them, with a confused look at the brunettes, Rachel immediately marched up to the Latina with her hands on her hips and stared at her.

Santana tugged her bag onto her shoulder and tried to advert the diva's eyes.

"_Ahem_."

Didn't she need something in her bag? She opened it to make sure.

"_Santana_!"

Finally snapping her eyes away from her fake-mission, Santana looked at the other girl. She was startled for a second – she'd almost completely forgot that it was the both of them in this situation; that she was confused, but that Rachel's feelings were involved too. When she saw the truly hurt look in those chocolate orbs, she _almost_ felt a pang of regret shooting through her body.

Blurting out, she tried to distract the other girl from the situation, "Don't you have ballet now?"

A tug came over the diva's lips as she started talking, "I have decided to skip ballet class today, because I'd much rather hang out with you at my house and discuss this situation we somehow find ourselves in the middle of. I expect you to follow behind me with your car. Do you, however, not do that, I will not shy away from dropping by your house when your family is there."

Santana was vaguely aware of what the diva was saying – something about ballet, talk, car and family – but she couldn't quite make it out, because as the other girl rambled on, Santana's eyes somehow found themselves moving lower; over plumb, cherry lips. Rachel's tongue – God, _Rachel's tongue_ – would sometimes slip out of her mouth as she spoke, moving across her lips and leaving a glistening layer of wetness behind. Were mouths even allowed to be made this fucking delicious? If they currently were, Santana was going to have to need those politicians to change that.

Pausing, Rachel's confused tone tore Santana out of her own head, "Santana? Santana, are you even listening to me?"

The cheerleader cleared her throat, "I'll – I'll follow you." she whispered, and a smile came onto the other girl's face, as she grabbed her trolley bag and darted towards the door. Santana followed close behind her, and for some reason – this was completely unintentional – her eyes settled on the brunette's full ass, as it swayed from side to side, while she skipped through the halls of McKinley High. There were so many odd things about Rachel, but _God_, that girl had a nice ass! Seriously, those short skirt would hardly cover it half the time, because it was simply too full and lovely, and – holy shit, she wanted to _put her hands_ on it.

It would probably be very soft.

Santana shook her head to herself and turned on her engine. What the fuck was wrong with her? She'd been fine all day long, she'd been, well, she'd been freaking out, if that was fine. But she had not felt the need to molest Berry in the frigging parking lot at school! Why would she want to do that, so suddenly? Fucking Berry and her fucking lips and fucking gorgeous body. It was like, there she was, and then Santana couldn't think straight. What was up with that?

The ride to the Berry household was short, and the two girls entered the big house in complete silence. Santana knew the way to the living room couch by heart now, so she threw herself on it, much like she had done last Friday when she'd been sore all over and Rachel had rubbed her with her fingers and- oh yeah. She wasn't supposed to think these things, she was supposed to be all cool and collected and calm enough to have this lame conversation with Rachel. She'd be forced to talk about her feelings, she'd refuse and things wouldn't go too well. Santana sat up straight.

"So." Rachel stated, taking a seat next to her, maybe a little further away than she usually would. "Santana, I'm worried about where this is going to lead. I was distracted in Glee Club, trying to write down a list of every possible scenario in my notebook. But I just can't begin to imagine what's going through your head, since you have yet to respond to me in any shape or form."

Santana felt a sense of dread creep up her spine. She wasn't sure how to reply to any of this, so she went with what usually worked for her; hostility. "What do you want me to say?" she spat back.

Rachel arched an eyebrow; she cleared was not intimidated by her at this point. Fuck it, that's what you get for becoming friends with people. "I want to know your opinion!" she said, her voice getting shrill, "I am truly sorry if you are uncomfortable with talking about this – I can see that you are, so don't you try to deny it! - but when things like these happen, you talk about it and eventually find a way to move pass it." she reached a hand forward and clasped it over the Latina's bigger one, "I will expect nothing less from you."

The cheerleader ripped her hand from her grasp and placed it in her lap. "Fuck! Rachel, I'm – I'm just, like, frigging confused, okay? We kissed! We – that's you and me – _kissed_!"

Blinking at her a couple of times, Rachel said, "Yes. We did kiss. And so?"

"_And so_?" Santana mimicked, staring at the other girl in complete and utter disbelief. How could she just sit there and take this so lightly? This was a disaster of epic proportions! "Berry, we fucking made out for an hour on your bed last Saturday and you're saying it's no big deal?"

A small smile found its way onto the diva's face. "I'm sorry, but I don't see it as a big deal." she explained, neatly crossing her right leg over her left one. "It's only natural, Santana. We're two young women, we're teenagers and we have hormones, and it's perfectly acceptable to act on said hormones. When you find someone else attractive, it's hard not to-"

"I do not find you attractive!" Santana interrupted her with a raised voice. _Liar. You are such a liar, Santana_, the voice inside her head continued to chant, _You've spent the better part of this conversation darting your eyes between her lips and the swell of her breasts. _The Latina groaned loudly.

Rachel didn't seem phased at all, and if the comment hurt her, she didn't show it. She actually looked rather amused. "Please, Santana, as you just said, we spent an hour making out on my bed this weekend, I think it's clear to everyone involved that you find me very attractive."

Santana didn't respond, she just gaped at the other girl like a fish out of water.

The singer continued with a shrug, "It's okay. I find you very attractive, too."

She could feel her eyes widen, and Santana turned her head away from the other girl, to stare blankly out the window. This shit was so messed up! How was she going to fucking explain to the other girl that nothing of importance had occurred and that they should just _forget_ everything? Rachel was practically set on making this into something between the two of them, even though she proclaimed that the kiss didn't matter. But if it wasn't a big deal, why were they still talking about it? She turned back to the other girl and sternly forced herself to look her in the eyes. "I'm not gay."

Rachel chuckled lowly, "Sure you're not."

"I'm not gay!"

Blinking, Rachel fired one right back at her, "What about Brittany? You admitted it to me yourself. You might be over her now, but there was a time when she was the most important thing in your world. You were in love with her."

Santana didn't know what to say to that, so she just continued to glare evilly at the other girl, who – apparently – wasn't concerned about this at all. She was all cool and collected and why wasn't she freaking out, too? Was Santana the big idiot here, who just didn't get it? "I was not in love with her." the Latina huffed. Except she totally was, and she knew it, too. But thankfully, she was over that now. Being friends with Rachel had affectively let her focus on other things, because the other girl wasn't exactly a low-maintenance friend to have. It had been nice, thinking about something else. But look where the fuck that landed her. This was the second time she'd done this with a friend, and she did not want to let it get out of hand like it did the last time. Plus – she fucking _wasn't_ attracted to Rachel Berry!

"You're freaking out." Rachel observed, uncrossing her legs, before crossing them the other way.

_Well noticed, Sherlock! _"Psh, I'm not."

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Well alright."

Santana sucked in a deep breath of air and shifted on the couch. "We're friends, Tiny. Despite your horrible taste in clothes and the fact that you're obnoxious and annoying and a fucking know-it-all, I actually like hanging out with you and shit. You're hilarious, even when you don't intend to be."

For once in her life, Rachel didn't say anything.

"But that's all we are." Santana finished, "_Friends_. I don't fucking like you, so don't go smothering me with crazy shit like you did with Finn and St. Douchebag, OK? We're friends. _Friends_."

_Quit saying the word 'friends', you're sounding like an idiot. _

Rachel's full (_Stop looking Santana!_), kissable lips tightened for a second, before they tugged upwards in a true Rachel Berry smile. "You certainly seem very adamant about being _friends_." she said, putting unnecessary pressure on the word 'friends' and Santana fucking knew she was making fun of her.

She groaned. "That's because that's what we are."

Rachel sighed. She was clearly very close to having enough for now, which pleased Santana a lot, because then she could get out of there and figure out what to do next. It was so difficult not being able to talk to anyone about this shit! "Be that as it may, but I know we're more than friends. You can't kiss anyone like that and not have some meaning behind it. Sorry if it messes up your world, but it's the truth. It care immensely about you, Santana, and I'm not going to hide that. And I also want to inform you that in my eyes, we could be something so much more, whether you're prepared for it or not. Maybe you aren't ready, but your kisses told me something else. I like you, and I want what I want, so you'll just have to deal with that."

_Why the fuck does she always talk in paragraphs!_

Leaning in closer, Rachel's breath tingled her upper lip. "The making out was hot. And though I've been dating boys for the past few years, I am more than prepared to jump into this again with you." she whispered, and Santana had to will herself not to shiver, because the close proximity was just too much to handle. Not that she enjoyed it or anything, Rachel's breath just smelled all fruity and stuff.

Santana heard herself squeak out something completely incoherent. What the fuck was happening to her? Since when did she let anyone dictate what she felt and what she should do? She was Santana Lopez, for Christ's sake, and this was _Rachel Berry_. Since when had the roles been reversed?

The diva leaned in a tiny bit more, and Santana could feel those red lips brushing hers ever so gently; there wasn't any pressure or force behind it, just lips barely touching lips. Rachel's breath was hot on her face, and Santana found herself, wanting to pull the other girl closer when she leaned back again. "You should think about this." Rachel told her, before she hopped off the couch and slowly – ever so fucking slowly – sauntered towards the staircase in the hallway.

Santana was left on the Berry living room couch with desire fucking _throbbing _between her legs, and it took her a good five minutes before she had gathered herself together enough to leave the house and get into her car.

What the fuck was happening to her?

**x**

"_What _the hell did you just say?"

Santana glared at Puck and smacked him roughly on the arm. "Don't make me repeat myself, Puckerman!"

Puck's lame-ass face broke into a huge grin, as he leaned over, clutching his stomach in laughs. The sound rippled through the basement where Santana was sitting on the side of the small table, while Puck was relaxing on the couch. It resounded over the underground walls, and the Latina was not happy with the fact that the boy found this so amusing.

Throwing himself more comfortably onto the couch, he placed his hands behind his head and stared up at her. "You can't be fucking serious, Lopez."

She glared at him some more.

"Well _shit_. You really made out with Rachel?"

And that was around the time Santana realised the he fucking knew. For fuck's sake, _of course_ Berry had told him all about it! How could she have totally overlooked that fact? They were like a pair of freaky best friends these days, of course she'd rat them out to him. Who knew, she probably called and told him the second Santana's car had left her driveway. She could not believe she hadn't realised he was totally playing along with her story, because the look of his face was totally mocking her right now.

She took the liberty of hitting him again. "Fuck you! Why are you being such a dick?"

He wriggled his eyebrows at her. "Lopez, what you getting at?"

She fell into the comfortable chair behind her and tugged her legs over the armrest, letting them dangle a few inches over the floor. She had no idea why she thought it would be a great idea to talk to Puck about this (well, not a _great_ idea, but he was the only serious option she had – Quinn just wouldn't get this part of her relationship with Berry), because now it just seemed like the most idiotic choice ever made. "Did Rachel tell you all of this?" she asked him then, seriously wishing she was anywhere else at this point.

"'Course she told me, Lopez. Rach and I are buds, and she knows more than anyone else how I appreciate some good girl-on-girl action." he smirked at her then.

She rubbed the balls of her hands into her tired eyes (fuck yes, she didn't put make-up on after Cheerios practice this afternoon; she was too fucking tired, and Puck knew her at her worst anyway), "I just don't get it!" she complained, her voice whiny and shrill and everything she hated in this world.

Puck turned over slightly, tugging his hands beneath his head, so he could lie on his side and watch her. "What don't you get, bitch? She's fucking nuts about you."

Turning her head over, Santana felt her eyes go round and huge. "She is?" she breathlessly whispered, and even though it was a totally pussy thing to feel, she couldn't help the soft flutter in the pit of her stomach and how her cheeks suddenly got warmer. If she was red in the face, it was only because there was obnoxiously hot in this shitty basement of his.

It wasn't often that Puck was all soft and sweet, but she did see this side of him occasionally, where, you know, you could actually talk to him about real shit. Mostly they just fucked each other and left to be alone afterwards, but at other times, he was really like a good friend who gave (shitty) advise. But she was sort of thankful that she was having this conversation with him right now, because Puck knew Rachel, and Santana wanted to know Rachel, and maybe he could explain some of her crazy for her. She decided to ignore that she was totally getting all soft in front of him, and hoped he wouldn't use it against her. He probably wouldn't, because Rachel would rip his balls off if he did.

He chuckled lowly. "She was yammering on about you and her and stuff for _two fucking hours_ on Saturday, I totally missed the awesome _Call of Duty_ game the guys had set up. I think I know 'nuts' when I see it."

"She is fucking nuts." Santana agreed, but somehow the idea of Rachel and her craziness wasn't so scary, and for some reason it just made her smile a little bit more.

He made a small sound and stared at her, suddenly all serious and stuff. "So when are you gonna man up and do something about this shit?"

She blinked at him. "What? You expect me to _do_ something about this? I can't do this with her! It's – it's _Rachel Berry_."

"She's a fucking catch and you know it." Puck harshly told her, pulling himself onto a sitting position on the couch. Suddenly, Santana felt a bit intimidated by him.

The Latina sat herself up straighter as well, gaping at him. He wasn't actually suggesting that-? Did he think that they should _do_ this? Like be together and stuff? The idea seemed so ridiculous in her ears, mostly because she couldn't do this shit, not in the way that Rachel wanted it. She knew that the other girl would want to be public and hold her hand and kiss her and stuff, and that shit just didn't fly with her. Not in front of, like, other _people_. Plus – it was _Rachel Berry_. What wouldn't everyone think at school? They'd probably haul her ass off to a mental institution and have her committed or something. They would claim her temporarily insane!

Santana bit her lip in thought. "Do you think we should... _be_ together?"

A tiny smile came across his lips then, and he was all affectionate when he spoke of her. "Rach wants you. She deserves whatever the fuck she wants, okay? And if that's you, you better be there for her!"

She sighed heavily and scratched her chin. Did he just tell her to go for it? Why didn't he think it was weird? "But like – me and Rachel? Are you even hearing this?"

"Would be fucking hot." Puck agreed, nodding his head at the mental image he was – without a doubt – having in his head. He grinned, "So what if it doesn't make sense to others, if it's, like, cool with the two of you, then that should be 'nough."

Was he actually being perceptive there? Who would have thunk it?

As if he realised that he was being generally too nice during this conversation, his features turned stern again, and he slammed his fist to the table. "But listen, Lopez! If you ever fucking hurt her, I don't care if you're a girl, I'm gonna kick your bony ass."

Santana nodded and leaned back in her chair, turning her attention towards the lame sitcom they had on in the background. Puck had always been her go-to-guy, but she was pretty sure he fucking meant what he'd just said. And not only because of his stupid threat, did she have no intentions of hurting Rachel. She would never do so intentionally, despite any promises of an ass-kicking – she sort of liked her too much.

**x**

On Saturday, Rachel's fathers took her and Rachel to the ice rink a few towns over. Santana hadn't really wanted to go; she'd never gone ice skating before, because she'd never had anyone to do it with, nor felt a particular desire to try it. But apparently Rachel and her fathers went every year, several times, and the diva loved it. She said it was a lot like ballet and roller blading all in one, and it was fun, even though it was always freezing cold.

Santana didn't particularly want to make a fool out of herself in front of a lot of other people, but Rachel's pouty face, when she asked her to come, hadn't been deniable. So she figured it was a good thing that at least it wasn't in Lima, because then she couldn't risk running into someone she actually knew. Now it was just a whole bunch of strangers so she could act as crazy as she wanted to.

The Latina didn't want to think about the fact that every weekend in the new year – so far – she'd at least spent _one day_ with Rachel. She never even used to hang out with Quinn and Brittany this much after school hours. But there was just something so nice and relaxing about spending time with the three Berrys; their house wasn't like her own, and even though she loved her family, everything was always crazy there; there were people everywhere; her parents, her siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins.. _dogs_. It was a madhouse, really, and it was so nice to be a place where she had the full attention of two loving adults and a crazy-ass friend, too.

Surprisingly, the rest of the week had been pretty uneventful after her talk with Puck on Tuesday. Rachel hadn't made a big deal out of anything regarding their uhm, _kiss_, and they'd hung out and done homework, and she'd worked their asses so hard in Glee Club that Tina limped out of practice one day, because her calves were so sore. Santana was thankful that nothing of the sort was mentioned, because it had given her plenty of time to consider what Puck had told her during their very weird, but very useful, heart-to-heart.

That was why she was determined to do something about it today. Even if she was wrapped up in layers of clothing and a huge knitted beanie as she wobbled her way onto the ice, she was determined to have fun and then figure this out with Rachel and herself. She could no longer ignore how, when the diva clutched her hand tightly, she'd feel the need to never let go. Or how Rachel's smile would somehow make everything seem better for just a second. And she most definitely could not ignore how excited she felt when the diva extended the invitation to go ice skating with her family, even though it scared the living daylights out of her.

Rachel was already spinning around on the ice like a true ice princess, while Hiram was doing a pretty good job at keeping up with her, his tiny frame speeding by countless of other skaters as he went. Rachel's flowy skirt was whipping around her as she spun around in a little circle, and a girl – probably no more than five – grabbed her mother's hand tightly and watched the brunette in true awe.

Santana couldn't help but watch her either – she was so graceful; so perfect as she did her thing. And was there really anything that girl wasn't good at it? It seemed as if she had to be the best at everything she tried. And it sort of scared Santana, this sheer determination and will, but she also couldn't help but admire her for it.

"I don't know where she gets it from." Leroy commented, holding on tightly to the railing besides them. Santana was gripping it pretty roughly herself, so she didn't tease him for it. "She's so natural at everything. She must have gotten all of this from Shelby."

Santana didn't really want to ask the other man about Shelby Corcoran and how much they knew about her encounter with Rachel, because she had a feeling that they weren't too pleased with how she had handled things; Rachel's wounds on that matter were pretty deep; she'd told Santana that one evening, when the Latina had been going through her drawers (just for fun, you know?) and had found a tape recording, that – apparently – was of Shelby singing a song to her.

Santana brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear and stared up at the older man. "So. I've never done this before. Are you good at it?"

He laughed. "I'm the most uncoordinated person there ever was, I just go because they force me to." he stared onto the ice, where Rachel and Hiram were running towards them, their hands clasped together, "Rachel's pout – you can't say no to that face."

Santana knew what he was talking about, because she'd come to recognise the true power of the Berry Pout pretty quickly after she befriended the diva. She smiled warmly when Rachel and her smallest father came to a perfect stop in front of them.

Rachel's face was already red from the wind, and the smile on her lips just made Santana's day. "Are you coming, Santana? I'll teach you how, just grab my hand."

Leroy nudged her forward, and Santana tentatively took a good hold of her gloved hand, before smiling back at the two males, who both gave her nods of encouragement. She felt like she was probably crushing Rachel's fingers, but she couldn't get herself to ease her grip. Slowly they made their way away from the two males, so they weren't so close to the railing.

The diva gave her a bright smile, her eyes full of joy and glee. "Wonderful! Now – you have tried roller blading, haven't you?"

Santana tried to straighten up her back and found that she could at least stand still without slipping. Good start, so far. "Britt and I used to do it when we were younger, I guess. It's been a while."

The brunette nodded, but her smile didn't falter. "Alright, so I guess we'll take it easy. It's natural, you just push forward and lean your weight from one foot to another, and it should come to you quickly!"

She was so enthusiastic, Santana could hardly let her wait, even though she felt a sense of dread wash over her. Wasn't ice, like, totally hard to fall on? And couldn't it rip your clothes with its sheer _ice_-ness? These were her favourite skinny jeans! "Let's do it." Santana said, effectively covering up a big gulp.

They started moving forward, slowly, their right feet, then their left feet, and Santana could feel her sharp skates slide through the ice easily, like it was nothing. She was amazed for a second, by how naturally it came, until she shifted a bit too roughly to the left and almost managed to pull Rachel onto the ice with her. However, once more, the diva proved that she had amazing strength for such a midget, and managed to keep them both upright.

With wide eyes, the Latina stared at the other girl. "Fuck." was all that came out of her mouth.

Rachel just giggled, "You're doing good, Santana. Do you want to try skating yourself? It's actually much easier than tagging me along."

Santana could tell that the other girl was itching to show off her ice skating skills for a bit, and she figured she'd let her until she could at least skate on her own. When she was able to move without wobbling, she could always see if Rachel wanted to skate around the rink with her. So she nodded and Rachel slowly let go of her hand, as the singer started moving around the cheerleader. She didn't move very far away from her, but simply skated pass her with a whoosh at the speed of light, while Santana slowly made her way forward.

It went on like that for a while; Rachel was enjoying herself, spinning and jumping and completely showing off, while Santana slowly got adjusted to life on the ice. She fell on her butt and her knees a couple of times (it hurt like shit), and she felt like she had way too many layers on, because this was serious exercise, and when she couldn't get it down right, she just worked herself even harder to do it. She knew she was sweating underneath her clothes, but thankfully no one could see it, and she'd just have to hustle Rachel's shower when the got home.

When she'd spent approximately forty minutes on this (yes, she checked her cell phone to time herself, so what?), she was pretty happy with how she was able to move. It was nothing like Rachel, of course, and she was pretty sure she couldn't stop gracefully – she'd have to grab the railing and leave it to fate – but she was ready to skate with the other girl, who had been following her development with trained eyes.

(She felt the prickle on her back. Shut up).

So they spent the next while skating around the ice, side by side, and when they passed the Misters Berry, Leroy would look all impressed at her quick learning, while Hiram would smile his giant smile and everyone was having a wonderful time. Of course there was about a gazillion other people on the rink, but it didn't annoy Santana like it usually would, because she was just inside her Berry Bubble and everything was quite wonderful there. She felt Rachel tug gently at both her hands, impressively skating backwards as Santana skated forwards, and there they were, spinning around together on the ice.

Somehow, laughter actually started bubbling out of her mouth, and Rachel's chocolate orbs lit up, and Santana felt like an entirely different person, like she could be this happy girl who didn't care about status and reputation, but just about Rachel and what she made her feel.

Gasping for air, the two girls came to a stop against the railing, and Santana suggested they go buy a cup of something hot to drink, while Rachel's fathers continued to make fools of themselves in the middle of the ice, by attempting to re-enact some routine they saw at the last Olympics.

Shuffling to a free bench, Rachel shook her head to herself. "They're weird. I'm sorry, Santana. But you have to know, they're usually like this, it's not even just the occasion."

Santana really didn't mind. She could see that they were having fun, so why would it bother her? Besides, they'd never see these people again anyway. She tugged her gloves off and happily warmed her hands against the paper cup that held her hot chocolate.

Rachel also swiped off her gloves and took a long sip of her coffee, before exhaling loudly. She looked really contend right then and there. "Are you having fun? Is this okay?"

The Latina nodded her head eagerly, "Yeah! I've never done this before, but it's cool."

Their eyes locked together and Rachel continued, "I didn't really want to push you with this invitation. You could've said no if you felt like I was pressuring you or something."

She appreciated the honesty, really, but there was no way in hell she'd wanted to pass up an opportunity to hang out with this girl alone – away from the nosey people in Lima. "You're not pressuring me." she whispered, raising her cup to her lips.

This seemed to please the other girl immensely. "Good." she whispered back, sipping her coffee once more.

Santana turned her attention towards the ice, where Hiram had just attempted to do a swirly-thing, but had landed on his butt instead. Leroy was trying to help him up without laughing, but apparently his husband took offence to his amused face, because when they locked their hands, he hauled him onto the ice, next to him. They proceeded to cling to each other there, sharing in intimate moment in the midst of everything. Feeling like she was intruding on the couple, she turned her attention back to their only child.

Rachel's red lips were wrapped around the plastic as she drank her coffee; her warm chocolate orbs were focused on something on the ice, and she looked beautiful as the sun beamed down on them through the winter clouds. A light wind bristled across the open space and blew her hair back slightly, and for a second there, Santana couldn't remember why it was that she was trying to ignore that feeling in the pit of her stomach. It seemed pointless right now. No matter how hard she tried, it was going be there still, and it would probably drive her insane.

"Tiny." she hoarsely choked out, as realisation settled comfortably inside her stomach.

The diva turned to look at her, resting her cup on the bench between them. She had a beautiful grin on her face, and an almost expectant look in her big eyes. Santana could feel her heart beat steadily against her chest, and she felt like a complete pathetic romantic pussy, but she really didn't mind. Not when it made her breath sort of ragged and her brain all foggy.

Placing her own cup right next to Rachel's, the Latina raised a shaky hand to place it lightly against Rachel's red cheeks. She drew in a very needed breath, before she leaned in, moving closer to the other girl in a slow pace. She saw Rachel's eyes widen slightly, but then her face moved closer too, and before their lips brushed once more, she'd closed her eyes and was enjoying the feeling again – the feeling of Rachel Berry consuming her entire being, and reassuring her with a feeling of love, of not being alone anymore.

It was short and sweet, and totally innocent, and hadn't it meant something so much more, it would barely had been anything. But the look in Rachel's eyes, when they stared at each other again, told her that she understood exactly where Santana was coming from. And she could do nothing but smile stupidly at the other girl, as they each grabbed their cups and scooted closer on the bench, their bodies flush against each other.

They didn't really say anything. They didn't need to. And when Rachel's fathers joined them with hot beverages themselves before they had to make the drive home, everything felt like it had changed between them. Santana wondered if it'd still feel like that when they were back in Lima, and everything went back to normal.

Because _fuck_. She couldn't really explain why, but she didn't want them to go back to normal. She might, possibly, maybe, actually sort of like _kissing_ Rachel Berry.

* * *

_I hope the end of this chapter wasn't too cheesy, and that the beginning wasn't too rough around the edges. I had some difficulties with it, I hope it doesn't show too much. Oh. And it's very difficult to peg down Santana's emotions; she has to slowly come to terms with everything, but it shouldn't happen too quickly, I still think she got burned pretty bad with Brittany and that she can't really imagine ever doing something like this and being public about it. But I also wanted to show how comfortable she could be when she's able to forget Lima and just **be** with the Berrys. _

_I hope you liked the Puck/Santana scene I put in here; I think that she needs other people to help her realise her situation. _

_I'm going to update my other story before I update this, so it should be a little while longer before the next chapter is here. _

_Thank you all so much for the kind reviews you leave! It feels nice to know that people are enjoying this story, and it's really so inspiring to hear your ideas and thoughts, and what you think works and doesn't work. _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or Facebook :) _


	9. so Don't Compromise

**Chapter Nine **

…**so Don't Compromise **

On Sunday, Santana had brunch with the entire Lopez clan like they did on most Sundays. It wasn't every weekend that everyone was able to make it for one reason or another, but all her older siblings had managed to return home this time, and the house was filled with so many people, Santana actually felt sort of smothered by them. Her oldest brother had brought his wife and their kid with him, and he'd somehow managed to dump the two-year-old off with Santana and she felt like a fucking babysitter.

That was, of course, until Abuela Lopez snatched the toddler and went off somewhere to scar it for life with kisses and hugs a plenty. It pleased Santana, because she'd never been too good with kids, even those in her family. The only kid she'd ever really managed to take care of was her baby brother Oscar, who was less than half her age, and she loved him more than she loved anyone else. He was the apple of her eye, so to speak.

She'd loaded her plate with a pile of food (this was the only time during the week where she insisted on not feeling guilty by the amount of food she consumed) and went to find herself a seat at the long table her mother had set in the dining room. Their brunches were usually at their place, since they had the biggest house, but everyone else chipped in with food and help, so even when her mother had had a crazy week at work, they still managed to somehow get everything sorted by Sunday. It was a weird tradition they had, but they'd always been close in her family, and it was important to her parents to not drift apart from anyone – even cousins and aunts and uncles.

Santana sat down by the end of the table and silently prayed that it be a somewhat _normal_ family member to sit down next to her, and she eyed her chance, when Oscar came waddling into the room with two plates, and somehow also juggling a glass of juice.

"Yo, hermanito!" she hollered, and locked her eyes with his as his tiny face lit up with joy, "Saved you a seat, pequeño, come eat with me." she patted the spare chair next to her and was pleased with herself. For some reason, he'd always been especially fond of her out of all the children in their house. Maybe it was because their two older brothers were simply too old when he was born, and Julita was too much of a girl – the logical choice had been Santana, because she was mischievous enough to teach him all the things that boys his age had to learn. Plus, they were the two only Lopez kids left now, and they had to stick together, right?

Oscar placed one of the plates on the table next to hers, and the other plate on the spot right next to that one. He hopped onto that chair, leaving one vacant seat between them, and took a long sip of his juice, ending with a contend sigh. "Orange juice!"

Santana chuckled lowly. "Why did you take that seat, Oz, there's one free right here." she proved her point by, once more, patting the spare chair. "And why did you need two plates? You sure you can eat all that?"

"It's not for him, Santa, it's for me."

Santana rolled her eyes and huffed as Julita claimed the chair between her two younger siblings. "You forcing him to pick up food for you? Don't you know that child labour is illegal?"

Julita rolled her eyes right back and snatched a piece of fruit from her plate. "He's being a good hermanito, aren't you Oz? He offered."

Oscar seemed completely engrossed in the pancakes with banana he had covered with syrup and merely nodded in agreement.

Julita crossed her legs firmly and leaned back in her seat with a teasing smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Her brown eyes surveyed Santana's face as they took in her appearance, before she finally said, "So, tell me, Santa, how are things going with that girl again?"

Santana kicked her shin beneath the table. "Stop calling me Santa or I'll kick your ass."

Her older sister just laughed. "Sure thing... _Santa Claus_."

The cheerleader crossed her arms across her chest and turned her head sideways, fuming to herself. Julita had thought she was so funny when she was nine and Santana was seven, and she'd made up that nickname during Christmas. Santana had hated it since the first time it came across her lips, but for some reason Julita never seemed to care whether or not Santana approved. She'd been calling her 'Santa' ever since.

"Tell me about her!" Julita demanded, nibbling at another piece of her fruit, before grabbing her bagel – thoroughly buttered, thanks to Oscar – and stuffing her mouth with it.

Santana was going to need plenty of coffee for this.

Their mother interrupted then, entering the room with another pile of sliced fruit, wearing her casual attire which really wasn't much different from her work attire. How she managed to work in a kitchen in that tight pant suit was beyond any of her children. They'd practically never seen her in anything else since they were born – okay, that was a lie. When the four oldest kids had all been, well, _kids_, she'd been a staying-home-mom, and it had been awesome to return home from school everyday to baked goods and cookies with milk. But after Santana turned four she started work again, and she'd been working ever since, only shortly interrupted when they accidentally got pregnant with Oscar. Both her parents loved their jobs so much, and Santana could only hope that she'd ever be as passionate about anything as they were.

But Carla Lopez smacked the bowl of fruit onto the table that always moonlighted as the buffet, before shooting a hard glare towards her two daughters. "You trying to get her to talk, Julita? ¡Ay Dios mío! She's been spending all this time with a new friend, but does she tell us anything? No, no no no! Have you talked to her – does she tell you things? I swear, sometimes it's like she's trying to hide herself and her life from us!"

Santana's eyes widened. "Mamá!" she hissed, shaking her head to herself. She knew that she didn't tell her parents many things, and she knew she probably should. She just... didn't feel comfortable telling them everything. She was so afraid they were going to figure her out, realise that Brittany had been more than just her best friend and that she'd been making out with this new 'friend' of hers, as well. She couldn't handle it if they found out and got upset with her, she really couldn't.

And Julita knew this, so that was why she was the cool sister she could be sometimes, and shrugged her shoulders, "I'm trying to get her to talk, Mamá, but you know how she is."

Carla studied her girls a few seconds more, before she turned around and marched back into the kitchen. Thankfully, there were so many people that no one had really bothered to pay attention to their small encounter, plus – conversations like these? They were very common in the Lopez family. Santana sighed in relief. She so wasn't ready to deal with this conversation yet.

Julita raised an eyebrow then and gave Santana a saying look. They'd had this talk before – _so_ many times before. They never found a solution for it, but Julita never hid what she thought was the right thing to do; she wanted Santana to be herself, and she was rooting for her to come clean with their family. The look she was sending in Santana's direction was clear indication of what she would have said had she been speaking aloud.

Rolling her eyes, Santana gave in, "Okay! I'll tell you about her. Jeez, calm down, woman!"

The older Latina grew a satisfied smile on her face then and tugged her chair closer to the table, before biting into one of her sugary goods. She had a pile of different breakfast pastries on her plate, and Santana decided to snatch one from her. "Alright, so tell me everything! As usual, you managed to talk to me for an hour without actually really telling me anything at all, except how annoying you think she is. Her name's Rachel, yeah?"

Santana couldn't help it; for some reason, a giant smile spread across her face as she munched away on a churro. "Yeah it's Rachel Berry. You know, the Berrys? The gay couple?"

Julita had an amused smile on her face. "No way! You're friends with her now? Didn't everyone in your class use to make fun of her? I remember seeing the Berrys around town. Hardly anyone's ever nice to them, just because they're-" she cut herself off, an apologetic look across her face. "Sorry, Santa." she whispered, "I guess I see why you're not really jumping to announce it everywhere."

Santana shrugged it off. She didn't want to talk about that today. If her sister wanted to talk to her, they could talk about Rachel all they wanted, but not about being out and proud. She didn't want to have that conversation yet again. "'S okay," she mumbled, adjusting uncomfortably on her feet, "it's not like I can fucking change that shit or anything. But yeah, I've been hanging out with Berry. She's way cooler than anyone ever gave her credit for. She's kind of a nerd, but she's great."

Chuckling, Julita took a giant sip of her coffee with milk, "Sure, most people are. So... I know you're totally trying to hide it and everything, but I could tell by the way you were on the phone last week that you really like her, are..." she trailed off, lowering her voice and leaning in a bit closer to her sister, "Is there more than friendship between the two of you?"

Apparently Santana's body had started to react on its own accord whenever Rachel was near or when she was simply just mentioned. Shit wasn't fucking cool, but what the crap could she do about it? A frigging _blush_ rose up her cheeks. A blush! Santana Lopez doesn't fucking blush.

Julita squealed. "Man! I knew it! You do like her." she shook her head to herself. "I can't wait to meet her! Oh, you need to bring her on a Sunday when I'm home – just like you did with Brittany and Quinn."

"I'm not fucking bringing her here, are you crazy or something?" Santana snapped right back at her, truly mortified. There was no way in hell that she was bringing Rachel here now, she didn't even know what they fucking were. Sure, they'd kissed yesterday at the ice rink, but shit, that didn't label them as _anything_. She knew that she kinda-sorta felt good when she was around the diva, but introducing her to the family, forthrightly? Shit just didn't fly. She didn't even know if she wanted things to happen like that. Yesterday had been awesome, but it had been like another world to Santana. They were in another town, another place, and she could simply just be herself with the Berrys. There was no way in hell that she'd be able to plant one on Rachel frigging Berry somewhere in Lima and not get crap about it.

Her sister rolled her eyes at her. "So I don't know if you said this, but where did you meet her?"

Santana bit her lip. "Glee Club." she replied, shrugging it off like it was nothing. Truth been told, if she told them who Rachel _really_ was in Glee, then they'd all freak out completely. Of course her parents – being the committed parents that they were – had attended all their Glee competitions and Invitationals, and her siblings on several occasions as well. Last year at Sectionals? Yeah, Carla, Julita and Oscar had yapped on for _hours _about the tiny girl with the big voice. Her brother was going to ask Rachel for her hand in marriage (kid was only seven, but he had plans, man!) if he found out that she was Santana's new friend.

Julita stuffed two small _Magdalenas_ into her mouth and crumbs went flying everywhere. "Can I see a picture of her on Facebook? If you don't show me, I'll find it myself." she quickly added, knowing very well that it was the only way to get Santana to do as she pleased (Santana knew this too; threats _always_ tended to work on her when they came from Julita. That woman knew too much shit about her for Santana to take the risk).

The cheerleader popped out her phone from her pocket and shyly logged onto Facebook Mobile, trying to hide beneath the shield of her hair so Julita wouldn't see the smile on her face and give her crap about it. When she came onto the homepage she quickly swiped the 'friends requests' page and clicked on Rachel's name (it was about time too, but for some reason – accepting the diva's friend request? It suddenly made it all very, _very_ real).

Her sister snorted. "You haven't accepted her friends request yet? Not cool, Santa!"

"Shut up alright?" Santana fired right back at her, even though she knew that she was right. She clicked on Rachel's name, silently praying that her sister wouldn't notice Rachel from all of their competitions in Glee. Of course she'd been in the audience watching them, but who knew? Maybe she'd recognize her. Santana really hoped she wouldn't, because she just didn't want to deal with the squealing and everything. She quickly scrolled through some of the pictures Rachel had posted of herself and clicked on one she offhand thought would show off the diva's attributes.

Shoving the phone to Julita, she couldn't hide the smirk on her face when her sister's eyes widened. "Wow, she's kinda cute, Santa."

Santana couldn't help the look she threw to the phone then. "She's more than kinda cute, hermana. She's fucking gorgeous that's what she is. And I can't explain how it happened for shit, but I just-" Santana cut herself off. If anyone was to understand what she meant by this mess of words, it was her sister. She knew her better than anyone, even Brittany, because they told each other everything.

Julita chuckled, "She's got really great legs. Her nose is kinda big, though!"

Snatching the phone from her sister's prying hands, Santana scolded her. "Don't fucking say that! Her nose is pretty! It's epic! And it _suits_ her!" she continued to defend Rachel, but as her sister started laughing harder, she realised that she was being kidded, "_Don't_ laugh at me. _Puta_!" she cursed in Spanish, angrily shoving her phone into her pocket again.

Her sister continued to laugh at her. "Is cool, Santa – you're just smitten."

Santana scolded at her once more, before she snatched another of her pastries. She would never admit that shit aloud, but she knew it, anyway. She _was_ fucking smitten.

**x**

On Monday, Rachel was sitting at the bleachers throughout the entire Cheerios practice, and Santana had no idea what to do about it. It was fucking early in the morning and the diva must have skipped her scheduled workout for this, and the Latina could feel the tingles on the back of her neck as they ran laps under the scrutinizing watch of one Sue Sylvester and her bullhorn.

"You think this is hard? Try teaching a bunch of pansies to do a prep double. THAT'S HARD! …get some water, pussies."

The cheerleaders all came to a halt by the bottom of the bleachers and each attacked a water bottle. Santana squirted her face with some water, knowing that in a second she'd freeze because it was still only the end of January and it was fucking cold outside. Didn't stop Sue Sylvester from letting them practice on the field instead of in the auditorium though. She glanced at Rachel who was sitting stiffly, trying desperately to rub some warmth into her bare legs (girl was fucking nuts).

Quinn shot her a raised eyebrow as if to prove a point, before she turned to talk to Coach Sylvester.

Jennifer Connelly, an incredibly blonde, snobby cheerleader, threw her bottle to the ground and put her hands on her hips. "What's RuPaul doing here? She here to coerce more of the Cheerios into your lameass Geek Club?"

Brittany stared confusedly at the other blonde. "It's not Geek Club, Jennifer, it's _Glee_ Club." she cheerily tried to explain.

Jennifer had the nerve to fucking roll her eyes. "Whatever! Santana, do something about that shit. I'm not gonna let that fag-spawn check out my legs when we do our routine."

"Back the fuck off, Connelly!" Santana spat right back at her, throwing her water bottle to the ground as well. That stupid bitch had rolled her eyes of Brittany _and_ insulted Rachel all in one go. That shit just wasn't okay with her! "I don't care much for your smart-ass comments about either Glee Club or Berry. You better watch yourself."

Taking a step closer and getting all up in Santana's face, Jennifer replied, "Oh. You're calling her 'Berry' now? What happened to 'Treasure Trail' and 'Stubbles'? You know what.. thinking about it, I haven't seen you throw a slushie her way since before _Christmas_!"

Santana pushed her backwards with a shove of her hands. "Not your fucking business, Jennifer."

The blonde laughed. "Oh that's rich! She's infested you with her gayness. That's why she's here, you're gay for each other."

Oh no, bitch did not just go there. Santana shoved her once more, this time with much more force, and she was all ready to pounce on her and ruin her new nose, but thankfully Quinn was quick to stop these sort of things (Santana was very aware of the fact that she'd get thrown off the Cheerios if she hit one of the others), and positioned herself between the two girls. "Get out of my way, Q!" Santana huffed, drawing in short breaths of air. That fucking bitch did not have the rights to go around calling everybody names.

(The Latina tried to disregard the fact that maybe... possibly... she might be right, however).

"Calm down your troops, Q!" Sue hollered through her bullhorn, and Quinn gave Santana a stern look, before gently pushing Jennifer out of the way. (Bitch got lucky).

"S!" Quinn hissed, dragging Santana off to the side. "You need to calm down, okay? You're at the bottom of the pyramid, if you pull something like this, I'll be forced to throw you off the team."

Santana glared at her (best?) friend and angrily crossed her arms in front of her chest. "She's a fucking bitch, Q! She thinks she's all that, but she's got it coming."

Quinn sighed heavily. "I don't know what she said, but you need to control your temper."

Santana rolled her eyes and turned her head to the side, refusing to look at the Head Cheerio.

Placing a warm hand on Santana's shoulder, Quinn whispered, "Stay here for a few minutes and cool off, alright?"

The Latina still didn't turn to look at her as Quinn jogged off to get the team started again, and Santana took a seat on the bottom of the bleachers, angrily kicking her feet into the ground. How was this fair? That whore Jennifer Connelly called everybody else names and yet she got out of this okay? How could it be that Santana was told to calm down just because she decided to stick up for two of her best friends? Shit just wasn't fucking fair.

"Santana?"

The soft sound of Rachel's tentative voice pulled Santana out of her thoughts and she snapped her head to the side, coming face to face with Rachel, who was standing there, with her arms awkwardly locked behind her back and a worried expression across her face. "What, Berry?" Santana heard herself snap – much harder than she'd intended to. But what the fuck, really? If Rachel hadn't decided to suddenly stop by their Cheerios morning practice, shit wouldn't have happened like this.

A flash of hurt edged across the singer's face. "Are you okay? I saw what happened!"

Pushing herself off the chair, Santana scoffed. "Don't fucking come to practice, okay?" she hissed, before she brushed pass the other girl to join her team-mates on the field.

She then ended up ignoring the girl for the rest of the day.

**x**

In Glee on Tuesday, Rachel sang _Hot'N'Cold _with a firm look in Santana's direction during the song, and the Latina squirmed awkwardly in her seat.

Fucking uncomfortable, that's what it was.

When she called to complain to Julita about it later, her sister told her to grow a pair and talk to the other girl, "Who knows, Santa, if you don't suck it up, she might find someone else to make out with. _Maybe_ she already has. That's how you lost Brittany, remember? Don't make the same mistake twice."

Uhm. Maybe she should just talk to Berry. Not because she was worried or anything. It just – it would just be better if... shit. She was _worried_.

**x**

So she drove to the Berry household on Wednesday after school. Shit was going to be fucking horrible, really, because she was going to have to, like, talk to the other girl and stuff. But how else would she tell her that perhaps it was better if they agreed that they only kissed each other? It's not 'cuz she wanted to be exclusive or anything, she just didn't want to share germs with some of the losers Berry might make out with. Shit wasn't fucking cool.

"Look, can we maybe talk?" Santana hurriedly asked the other girl, when the front door was opened and Rachel stood there in a pair of tight black yoga pants and a pink sports bra. Her hair was pulled back in a messy bun and Santana wanted to lick her abs.

Rachel huffed. "_You_ wanna _talk _to _me_? What have the world come to!"

Santana resisted the urge to roll her eyes (it so wouldn't help her case right now). "Stop being such a drama queen and let me in, Tiny. I miss you."

A small smile tugged at the corners of Rachel's mouth and she opened the door fully and turned towards the living room. Santana followed after her, closing the front door and kicking off her white sneakers. She took a seat on the couch right next to the other girl and tried to look anywhere but at the cleavage that the tight sports bra had created by squeezing firmly on the diva's breasts. _Yum_.

"Thanks for the song." Santana said to her, more to get the conversation going than anything. It wasn't really supposed to be this awkward, but perhaps she deserved it after pushing her away once more.

Rachel didn't even blink when she replied. "Well, I figured that an expression of emotion would quite suit our current situation, and though I've never cared much for Katy Perry and her popular tunes, I found the lyrics quite fitting. You're most welcome."

The Latina felt her insides clench tightly, and what the fuck? Rachel was just babbling on like usual, yet there she was, on her couch, getting all emotional and stuff. What the hell? She reached forward and grabbed the singer's hand tightly, refusing to release her. "I freaked out."

"Correction," Rachel informed her, "you freaked out_ again_."

"I'm sorry!" Santana heard herself whisper (and since when did Santana motherfucking Lopez apologise for anything? That's right, since never). "It's just – we were kissing and then we were kissing some more, and I'm just really-"

Rachel cut her off, a sincere look written across her face as she softly spoke, "Confused. Santana – you're really confused." she murmured, turning her hand over, gently letting their palms rest against each other as she interlocked their fingers carefully. "I know this is why you lost Brittany, because you were confused as well. And you probably never thought you'd find yourself in another situation like that again, but now here you are. I think that you might actually be..." she trailed off, not wanting to meet the Latina's eyes.

Santana knew what she was going to say anyway, so it didn't matter. "Gay. I might be really, _really_ gay."

The brunette then met her eyes. "Yes. Yes, you might be."

The cheerleader pulled her hand from Rachel's grasp and buried her face in both of them. Shit was really messed up, wasn't it? How the fuck did she end up here – and with _Rachel Berry_ of all people? She had no way of explaining it, except that it sort of just happened. And she was vulnerable, which wasn't a feeling she particularly enjoyed. She heard herself groan aloud, "What the hell!"

"_Santana_!" Rachel gently said, prying her hands away from her face so they could look directly at each other. "You need to figure out if you have any desire to do this. Do you want to be friends or do you want to continue what we're doing – for a while – just to see if maybe you're more comfortable with it? If we decide to, you need to stop pushing me away, because I can't let myself get hurt over and over by you."

Their eyes locked, and Santana saw that she was serious, and that she could do this, if they were both okay with it. But was she? Could she? This was all so confusing. "I'm just not sure I'll ever be ready, Tiny."

A small smile graced Rachel's lips. "You most certainly will be, don't worry about that."

"I'm really confused," The Latina whispered again, and her heart did a funny flip when Rachel's hand brushed her thigh, "I'm so into you, Rachel, you have no_ idea_. But I just, I don't know, I-" she cut herself off once more and simply stared at the other girl, at a loss for words. There was nothing to say, _nothing_. Everything she said was going to be useless crap, so why even bother?

Rachel reached a hand out, gently palming the Latina's face as she gazed into her eyes, brown meeting brown. "I _really_ like you too, Santana. But I won't let myself be treated like you treated Brittany. The question is whether or not you're ready for that. I know there's plenty of things to factor in here. I've never been afraid of showing the world who I am, and I'm not going to start hiding now."

Santana drew in a sharp breath of air and leaned into Rachel's touch. "That's what so great about you, Tiny. You're never afraid of anything."

"That's not true." Rachel quickly said, eyes flickering briefly from side to side. "I'm afraid of being lonely."

Swallowing hard, the cheerleader nodded. She knew exactly what that feeling was like, because she'd been lonely too. She'd felt those things, she'd been miserable by herself, and Rachel had been the one to suddenly appear out of nowhere. It'd been surprising to see it come from her, but Santana was thankful that she'd decided to give it a chance. Right now, she couldn't imagine not having Rachel. And the most scary thing was – she didn't _want_ to imagine it. Had she become dependant on the other girl? She thought so.

She breathed out heavily. "The scary thing here, Tiny, is that I don't _want to_ need you. But I do."

This information seemed to make Rachel particularly happy.

"Don't look so smug about it, okay!" Santana told her, voice whining slightly, as she pushed the other girl away. "It's not fucking cool, alright? And don't ever tell anybody that I said that shit."

Rachel bit her lip and nodded. "So you do want to be with me? Or am I completely misunderstanding things here?"

The Latina shrugged her shoulders. "I guess."

"You guess?" Rachel exclaimed, her big eyes going even wider. "That's really not good enough, Santana. If I am to commit myself to you, I need to make sure that you won't just dispose of me as soon as something better comes along, as another girl – someone hotter, more beautiful – bats her eyelashes at you and invites you into her bed! I can't be in a relationship and have to fear that everyday. I know that we're different and I know that it can be scary, and there's still so many things we need to figure out, but I just really hope that we can see where this goes, because Santana, you've become so much more to me. Admittedly, I never believed that something like this would happen, but it has, and I just hope that-"

Santana cut her off then. She launched forward and firmly pressed her lips against the other girl's, hands pulling her head closer as fingers got tangled in long brown locks. She worked her mouth against the diva's, breathing in through her nose, refusing to let go. She was desperate for contact, desperate to shut Rachel up, and desperate to feel everything she felt whenever they were together like this. Rachel was stiff at first, but as Santana didn't let go, she responded, her back going limp and her hands moving from the couch and towards Santana's shoulders. She eagerly responded, lips meeting lips, tongue meeting tongue, and as they pulled apart, both breathing heavily, Santana pressed her forehead against the singer's.

"I _don't_ know." she breathed. Her lips brushed against Rachel's as she spoke. "I _really_ don't know. But Goddamnit Rachel, can't we just go with it for now? I need you, okay? And I need to know that it's you and me. You're – you're not kissing someone else too, are you?"

A small smile spread across Rachel's face and she lightly shook her head; as much as she could in their current position. "Only you." she whispered, eyelids fluttering close. "What about you?"

Santana felt a small tingle run up her spine as she realised that she wasn't, that she _hadn't,_ in a very long time. And maybe it was a bit scary, because the only reasonable explanation she could come up with was the fact that she didn't want to. _Because_ of Rachel. How fucked up was that? She also whispered, "Only you."

And the brunette's eyes fluttered open again, and she leaned forward, pressing their lips together once more. She could feel something akin of desperation erupting all over her skin, and she tugged the other girl closer. She had no idea what this meant. But fuck that anyway – she had Rachel right where she wanted her, and she'd somehow managed to survive another talk. She'd never had a conversation like this with Brittany, and she figured that maybe it was a good thing that she'd done it this time. Things didn't seem to be able to go all that wrong now.

They ended up making out on the Berrys' couch for the rest of the afternoon.

**x**

Thursday morning before homeroom, Rachel marched right up to Santana by her locker. Everybody around them gasped and Santana wanted to creep into her locker and hide, but she remembered what Rachel had said yesterday. She wasn't going to push her away, she couldn't _afford_ to push her away.

Standing up straight, she talked to Rachel and shot everybody stern glares across the other girl's shoulder. They needed to back the fuck off anyway, what business did they have in her personal life?

But that didn't mean she particularly enjoyed the smirk that Quinn sent her way when she paraded down the hallway with her blonde boyfriend. Bitch.

**x**

All hell broke loose in Glee on Friday. They'd been working for two hours straight on their first selected number for Regionals – a duet between Rachel and Finn, which yes, made Santana want to barf, and she was pretty sure Rachel was fucking uncomfortable about it too, even if she pretended to be professional – and everybody was pretty much worn out. Mr. Schuester had suggested they all took a short break for the weekend and put finishing touches on everything on Monday, but Rachel refused to let anyone leave before this number was perfect.

"No!" she cut everyone off, pushing through a few of her class-mates, "Mercedes! You need to focus more on the steps. You've got the singing down, okay? We all know that you can belt it out. But the judges are going to notice it immediately if you're not in step with the rest of us." she stomped her foot, turning to Sam, "And _you_! You need to stop looking at your girlfriend and look to the audience instead. I know you don't appreciate her dancing with Noah, but get over it, Sam!"

Mercedes took a step forward, "Who made you Queen of Glee? I don't hear Mr. Schue complaining about me!"

Sam crossed his arms across his chest in a defensive motion. "If your girlfriend had to dance with the guy who got her _pregnant_ – you'd feel the need to watch her, too." he informed them all, glaring in Puck's direction.

Rachel looked about ready to pull her hair out at this point. "For Christ's sake, Sam! She's wearing your ring, we all know you're the perfect couple. She's not going to sleep with Noah!" she argued, before returning to her spot in front, right next to Finn, "Look – we need to go over this again!"

Lauren groaned lightly, "I'm so hungry." she mumbled, "I need a snickers bar."

Brittany glanced at Santana, "I can't feel my feet. But maybe that's the medication I took during free period."

Puck took a step forward and Santana hoped to God that he'd be able to calm Rachel the fuck down. Because this was simply too much, it was Friday, it had been a long week, and she just needed to cool off. "Look Rach," he gently told her, tugging at her arm, "maybe we really should do this on Monday."

Rachel shook her head, turning to look back at them all, her gaze going over every each of her classmates, stopping briefly at Santana's, before settling on Mr. Schuester. "_No_." she firmly said, "We need to make this perfect _now_. We're already behind schedule as it is."

"Rachel-" Mr. Schuester tried to butt in, "-I think you're being a bit too hard on everybody. Not everyone here is used to performing as much as you are."

Rachel completely ignored him. "From the top, people!"

A collective groan was heard from everyone in their group, and Santana legit saw Tina's lower lip tremble as she leaned into Mike's embrace, completely lost of all energy. No one was going to fucking stop the crazy diva right now? Santana wasn't going to stand for this, she was simply being too crazy. "Hell no, Berry!" she grumbled, causing everyone to look at her.

The brunette turned her way, her big chocolate orbs settling on the cheerleader. "What is it, Santana?"

"We're not fucking going over this again." the Latina firmly said, pushing her way through people to stand face to face with Rachel (her sort-of-maybe-possibly girlfriend). "We're good okay, we've got time to get this polished. We don't fucking need to do it at four thirty on a Friday afternoon!"

Rachel stomped her food, completely offended, of course. "Perfection takes time!" she argued.

Santana argued right back. "Stop obsessing over every Goddamn detail, Tiny! Christ, you're so fucking anal-retentive!"

A loud, dramatic gasp escaped Rachel's lips then, her eyes going wide as she lifted her left hand to cover her mouth. Santana could legit see fucking tears forming at the brims of her eyes, and she knew she should feel bad, but she simply couldn't, because this girl was fucking nuts right now. "Take that back." she whispered.

The Latina shook her head, standing her ground, "Hell I won't. You're fucking crazy, Rachel. Everyone's exhausted and you're a perfectionist. We know you want this, we want it too, but calm the fuck down, okay!"

"I can't believe you'd say that to me." Rachel murmured, dropping her hands to hang limply at her sides. She took a step backwards, looking hauntingly at the cheerleader, as two tears rolled down her cheeks.

Santana didn't know what to say, but Quinn decided to step in. "'Course she's gonna say that to you, Berry, you're being obnoxious as usual. Just because you're all buddy-buddy now doesn't mean she can't see when you're being bossy and domineering."

Santana snapped her head to the side then, glaring at the HBIC, "Hey!" she hissed, "Don't talk to her like that!"

Quinn snorted and rolled her eyes, before returning to her spot next to Sam.

Rachel swallowed loudly. "Do you really think I'm bossy and domineering?" she whispered, her eyes daring Santana to look at her and tell the truth.

The Latina was painfully aware of the fact that everybody was watching them and she felt wrong in this sort of spotlight, but she knew that if she didn't fix this right now, Rachel might possibly not forgive her for ever saying this to her – not even if she thought about it and realised that the cheerleader was right. "You are kinda bossing all of us around right now, Tiny. I know you're our leader, but you need to calm down."

The diva gasped again; this time much quieter, but it was still heard by everyone, because no one was saying a word; the silence was overwhelming in the small choir room. "Why are you even with me if I'm so horrible?" she questioned then, staring at Santana once more with that wounded look in her eyes.

She wanted to tell her so many things right then; that yes, she was all of those negative things, but she was also so many positive ones. That the good outweighed the bad without question. But Santana couldn't get a single word across her lips, and as the seconds ticked by, she knew that she was losing this battle more and more. Not this battle, the one in front of their friends and team-mates, but the battle she'd been trying to fight in their relationship, trying to stop herself from pushing the other girl away. She knew she needed to open up, but... fuck it. It was a lot harder than it looked. Okay?

When not a word was spoken from the Latina, Mercedes took a step forward and glanced between the two of them. "Wait a minute..." she trailed off, and it was evident that everyone – sans maybe Puck and Quinn – in the room was fucking confused right now. She let out a tiny laugh. "Are you guys _dating_?"

Just as Santana was quick to huff out a firm "No!", Rachel's clear voice sung out a high "Yes!", and everybody in the room paused to stare between the two girls. Once more, the room had fallen into silence.

Rachel bit her trembling lower lip and bent her head, shielding Santana from looking into her eyes. She could see her shoulders shaking and the way her tiny body wrecked in small jolts as she struggled to keep her emotions to herself. The Latina felt panic well up her throat and shared a questionable look with Puck, who just looked at a loss for words.

As the diva looked up again, tears were streaming down her face, and she turned to grab her pink trolley bag. Santana quickly reached for her elbow. "Tiny." she breathed out.

The brunette heaved out deeply and ripped her elbow from Santana's hand, before she turned to look at her, expectations written across her face. "What? What is it, Santana? Are you done completely humiliating me? I thought we had this very conversation two days ago. You led me to believe that you were ready for _this_."

Santana blinked at her. "I never said I was ready for shit, Berry! You just assumed!"

She stomped her foot into the linoleum floor. "Well excuse me for thinking that you kissing me actually meant something! I told you, Santana – I can't do this push-and-pull with you! Either you _date me _or you leave me _alone_!" she stressed, pressing a firm finger into Santana's stomach with incredible force. (She was probably gonna bruise now).

The Latina rubbed the spot and just stared at the other girl. She had no fucking idea what was the right thing to say right now.

Brittany mumbled, "Santana doesn't date girls. She only wants to date boys."

Rachel sent a glare in Brittany's direction and huffed once more. "Well, I guess I was naïve for thinking that she could change." she mumbled, before she turned on her heel, executing one of her perfect diva storm-outs.

Santana turned to look at her friends, who were all looking at her, their jaws hanging open. Even Mr. Schuester seemed to be particularly shocked by the news, and Brad – who was always just _there_ – seemed to shake his head to himself in a manner that clearly said that he was tired of dealing with all this high school drama.

Tina dared to meet Santana's eyes, "What just happened?"

"This fucking doesn't leave this room!" Santana quickly spat, shooting a look to all of her friends, pressing an especially tough one in Finn's direction. The tall boy had been unusually quiet throughout the entire exchange and Santana was afraid of what he might do when he learned of these news. She so wasn't ready to deal with his shit right now. "No one says a frigging word about this to anyone or I'll fucking main you all. Understood?"

"Oh, hell to the no!" Mercedes exclaimed, holding out her cell phone, "I gotta tell my boy Kurt about _everything_ – he has to stay in the loop."

Santana rolled her eyes. "Rachel fucking tells that boy everything in her life, I'm pretty sure he knows about this right now. Wait for it – she's probably wailing into her phone as we speak."

Mercedes took a step backwards and Puck took one forward. "Hey Lopez," he said to her, "you need to fix this. Rach might be bossy and domineering, but she's a helluva lot more than that. I thought you saw it, too."

The Latina shifted awkwardly at her feet and let her gaze linger at the door Rachel had just gone through a few minutes before. Had she really screwed things up so badly right now? Perhaps things had been fixable if she'd just admitted to everyone that she and Rachel were (not exactly) dating, but still so much more than they used to be. But she had to go and deny it, and what now? Would Rachel ever look her way again?

It felt like something was squeezing violently on her intestines and suddenly Santana found it very hard to breathe. "Fuck." she mumbled, shaking her head to herself, "Fuck, fuck, _fuck_!"

"S!" Quinn snapped, grabbing roughly onto her arm, "Calm down, okay? It's fixable, I promise you."

Santana stared at Quinn then, and even though they'd never really come to terms with each other and everything that had happened, she saw something there. She saw the friend she'd known since preschool, the friend whom she could _always_ count on. Inside those brown eyes, she saw trust and understanding. She saw that Quinn was going to be there for her, to make sure that this shit got sorted – like a real friend would be.

The Latina felt herself nod, before stepping into Quinn's arms, vulnerable and hurt, in front of people who'd never seen her like this before. But she couldn't find it in herself to care right now, because too much shit had happened, and everything she could think inside her head was the fact that _Rachel_ was gone.

_I need to get her back, I need to sort this out, _she kept repeating inside her head. _What the fuck am I gonna do without her annoying midget ass? _

"Show's over, people!" Quinn barked, and before Santana could tell what was happening, Mr. Schuester was ushering everyone out of the choir room, clearly confused himself. But she was thankful though, because right now she couldn't think one coherent thought. All she could muster was the thought of that girl who'd somehow managed to worm herself into her heart and get her to open up and shit.

_Rachel... _

_fuck.

* * *

_

_I am a bit iffy about this chapter for several different reasons – first, did you like the day-to-day layout? I thought it was a nice way of doing it, but did you think so too? And second, the end? Was it too much? I'm not a big fan of public blow-ups and public-confessions and all of that, but they seem to be a bit of a theme in Glee, so I figured that to stay in tune with the show, it wouldn't be too bad. But I dunno, tell me what you think? _

_I took Spanish in school, but that was like a year ago, and do you have any idea how much shit you forget over the course of a year? I finished at the top at my exams, but now that I actually have to use that shit in real life? I can't remember much. I hope everything's correct, though, if not, I will edit it if you point out my mistakes. I am in no way trying to offend anyone. _

_I promise you now, that things are definitely getting very closer. I've been doing this push-and-pull for a while now, and I'm pretty sure Santana's coming to settle down with her feelings a bit more. Let me know if you think it's realistic or not, if it's still too quick or something. _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or any songs mentioned. _


	10. Never Quit

**Chapter Ten**

**Never Quit**

She threw on her running gear and did what she always do when shit becomes too much – she ran. She let her feet propel her down the rough pavement, skilfully slipping past snow and ice, as she forced herself forward, harder, quicker. The wind blew her hair backwards and she could feel the cold stinging the skin on her face, but she didn't care. She needed to work harder, she needed to forget. Maybe if her lungs were burning and her feet were aching, she wouldn't feel so stupid and hopeless.

She ran, faster than she'd ever run before, even through Coach Sylvester and her stupid Suicides. She forced herself around the park twice, and she could feel sweat streaming from her forehead and down her cheeks. But she felt better, she felt fresher, accomplished, and she pushed herself even more, passing 10 miles before she flew down her own street, carefully slowing down.

It was so stupid, Goddamnit! How hard could it be to say a simple 'yes' instead of a 'no'? Rachel did not deserve to be shot down like that in front of everybody – sure, they hadn't exactly agreed on where all this was going to take them, but fuckety fuck, they'd made out and Santana hadn't exactly told her 'no'. And even though the diva had been too frigging tense during practice, she did not deserve the way that everybody ganged up on her in the end. Santana fucking hated herself for putting the other girl through that again; after getting to know her, she'd sworn she wouldn't be a part of that once more. It was the way they always treated Rachel, and she deserved to have someone stand up for her. Even if she was too much, Santana should have handled it fucking differently; tugged her off to the side and gently informed her that maybe it would be better if they took a break.

But she was too fucking idiotic to do that, wasn't she? And now she'd be lucky if Rachel even wanted to be with her again, as a friend or as something more. She could feel her heart clench tightly, and it wasn't even from the intense workout she'd just had, no. It was from the horrible thought that she might not get to feel Rachel's lips on hers once more, or even the diva's hands as they tugged her close, into a suiting embrace. She was fucking screwed, wasn't she? She'd actually _fallen_ for Rachel Berry and not only had she managed to do that, but she'd also managed to make damn sure that nothing ever came out of it – just like she'd done with Brittany.

Oh heck no. She wasn't going to let another girl slip away from her like that, Santana was determined. She had to find a a way to make it up to the girl – no matter what it took. It may make her sound frigging whipped or something like that, but she couldn't honestly say that she cared. She just knew that she needed Rachel. In the last month, she'd somehow managed to become pretty dependant on her, so she'd have to find a way. She couldn't be out and proud in front of everybody, but if she managed to get Rachel to talk to her, maybe she could convince the brunette to start dating her – secretly, at first, just to start out.

The Latina came to a halt when she turned up the path to her house, only to find Quinn sitting on her front porch steps. She was wrapped in her giant winter coat and had her hat tucked well over her ears. And she glanced at Santana, a small smile creeping up her face as she rose to meet her.

"Q." Santana mumbled, slightly out of breath as she approached the other girl.

Quinn stuffed her hands into her pockets and nodded her head shortly, "Can we talk, S?"

Santana nodded and waved the other girl with her inside. She had no frigging clue what Quinn wanted now, but she wasn't about to question it. When they'd left the choir room earlier after the disastrous Glee practice, Quinn had squeezed her hand comfortingly before she'd turned on her heel and gone to find Sam. Now that she was here, Santana couldn't quite put her finger on why, but she came to realise that she really didn't mind.

They went up the staircase after Santana informed her mother that she was back from her run, and went down the long hallway to Santana's room. Quinn was quite familiar with the Lopez house – she could've just gone inside and chatted with Santana's mother until the Latina returned from her run – and she sat herself down on Santana's bed, tugging her feet beneath herself in a comfortable manner.

Santana took a seat on the office chair and rolled across the floor, facing the other girl. She didn't want to throw herself onto the bed, even if her body was aching – it'd just get everything sweaty and gross for no good reason at all. The only accepted reason for beds to get sweaty was sex. At least in Santana's opinion. Speaking of which - she hadn't been having much of that as of lately (it totally sucked by the way).

"Look," Quinn begun, and the Latina could feel the mood in the room change dramatically; this was not a pleasant visit, but Santana hoped that it would be beneficial. She was pass the point of caring if Quinn knew how much she liked Rachel, shit didn't matter to her anymore, not if Quinn truly wanted to help her. "we need to talk."

Santana nodded, "Yeah?"

Quinn arched an eyebrow, shifting slightly and placing one leg above the other, "For some really messed up reason – you actually seem to care about Rachel." (Santana was pleased to hear that she was using her first name at this point). "I'm not going to pretend that I get it – that I even _like_ it – but you do, apparently, and I can't let you ruin another good thing, S. I really can't."

She was being sincere, that much was evident to the Latina. She felt herself sigh a breath of relief she didn't even know she'd been holding, and got more comfortable on the office chair. "I do, Q – I really do. It's like... she doesn't really _know_ me. But she gets it."

The blonde head-cheerleader watched her for a few seconds then, her warm brown eyes studying her closely as the wheels turned inside her head. "Alright," she whispered, her soft voice ringing clearly inside the tiny bedroom, "we need to fix it, then. I did promise you."

Santana felt a small smirk come onto her face then. "I don't think it's that easy, Q. Rachel's... Rachel's not gonna just forgive me for this, she'd thought better of me. I'd thought better of me."

"You only did what everyone else wanted to do today, you know." Quinn quickly said, shaking her head slightly. "Rachel was being annoying as usual, and you told her off. We all really appreciated that. And it's cool, just because you're dating or whatever, Rachel shouldn't expect you to shut up and just stop being yourself. I bet she likes you because you're so different and that you challenge her. One of her problems with Finn was that he never said no to her."

The Latina felt herself nod in agreement to everything the other girl had observed. Shit was really true. Frankenteen never said anything to Rachel, she pretty much wore the pants in that relationship. Quinn was fucking right – the diva needed to be challenged!

"So," Quinn continued, a slightly smirk appearing on her gorgeous face, "you did the right thing – you just did it in the wrong way."

Santana felt herself smile. That was the conclusion she'd come to herself, as well. It was fucking true, really. Rachel needed to be told to slow down every once in a while, but there were ways to do it, and then there were ways not to do it. She'd done it the wrong way today, but if she was fucking lucky and Rachel decided to forgive her sorry ass, then she'd have to learn how to do it the _right_ way. "So what?" she spat. She was getting impatient; if Quinn had an idea, she just needed to spit it out, Goddamnit, so Santana could start working on it and get her dwarf back.

Quinn smirked, her HBIC attitude clearly in place, "Rachel's forgiving, S. She practically forgives everyone. Has she even mentioned all the names you've called her, all the slushies you've thrown her way?" she paused briefly, but when Santana didn't really reply, she continued, "No way! Because she forgives everyone. She already forgave Finn for lying to her for e_ight months_, and they would have been together again by now if she hadn't gotten him mad for _whatever_ reason she got him mad."

This time it was Santana's turn to smirk. Because she knew this shit and Quinn totally didn't. But at this point, she really thought that the entire club deserved to hear what Rachel had done; Santana, for one, found it totally badass. Rachel had decided to fucking sleep with Puck just to get back at Finn. What could be more awesome than that? And Rachel totally wouldn't mind if it got out, because she was completely over Finn at this point. And it was high time everybody knew that Rachel could stand up for herself, if she really wanted to.

The blonde girl gasped. "You know something!"

Oh, the joy. Santana leaned in closer. "Kurt knows too, but for once he hasn't spread the gossip. Rachel cheated on Finn."

Quinn's eyes went completely wide, "What! With _who_?"

"Puck."

Realisation settled on the other girl's face as she took into account everything that had happened, and how everyone had acted. She then nodded her head slowly. "That makes sense..." she whispered, "It's totally badass, by the way."

Santana couldn't help but laugh. "That's what I thought."

Quinn laughed too, and for a couple of seconds, it felt so nice and familiar, just the two of them, laughing like this as they used to do in middle school. Things were so much more simple back then. It was before boys and popularity and grades got between them; before the need to be popular became more important than friendships. They had both wanted it too much, they'd fought over everything, wanted to be the best. And it had ruined the strong bond they'd worked years to create. Santana didn't really think that it was worth it, honestly.

"This is nice." Quinn whispered, looking firmly into Santana's eyes as their laughter faded out and a comfortable silence overtook the room. "I miss this. Us, being friends. With Brittany too. I wish we could have it back." she reached forward and took Santana's hand then, tightly placing it inside her own. "Can't we have it back?"

The Latina felt herself nod her head. "Let's forget all the stupidity, Q. We're gonna need each other."

She bit her lip, "Even B?"

Closing her eyes, Santana felt herself nod once more. She could handle this, she was _ready _for this. She'd felt ready for a while now, felt that maybe it was time to have that talk with Brittany and get everything out in the open. They'd even been better lately; at Cheerios practice they had talked and run laps together, and at Glee they'd laughed at the same silly things. It had felt nice and familiar. "I'm gonna talk to B. I'm gonna make everything okay between us, Q, and after that – it'll be like the old times, when the three of us ruled the playground."

Quinn smiled again, warm giggles erupting from the bottom of her stomach. "Remember when we pushed Rachel off of the monkey bars? She broke her ankle and couldn't dance for a while. We had to listen to her yap about it for three months during Ms. Brown's class, which was the only one we shared with her."

Santana could feel laughter bubbling in her stomach as she recalled the incident. Rachel had been playing alone on the monkey bars during recess, and Quinn had told her to go on as well to make sure the other girl slipped. The two blondes had been standing at the ground and laughed as Santana grabbed the bar Rachel had eyed, and the tiny girl fell to the ground, thus breaking the fall with her ankle. Even as eight-year-olds, the three cheerleaders were absolutely vicious.

"She'll forgive you, S," Quinn assured her with a gentle squeeze to the hand, "I'll make sure of it."

Santana pulled her hand back to herself and leaned into her office chair. She was fairly aware of the strong smell of sweat she had around her, and she really needed a shower, but she still had no idea how to get Rachel to talk to her, to just hear her out so she could apologise properly. Not that she'd even tried yet, but she was fairly certain that the other girl wouldn't pick up the phone if she tried calling her. "How though, Q? How will I make her realise that I'm really sorry? I can't lose her too, I can't."

The blonde girl breathed out heavily, an uncertain look in her eyes as she thought it over. Biting her lip, she said, "You're going to have to talk to her at first, make_ sure _to hear her out. It's Rachel Berry we're talking about, she's going to have _plenty_ to say to you. And only – and I mean this, Santana, even though it's going to be difficult for you, I know –_ only_ when she's done, can you try to talk to her. Then you'll have to see if she listens."

The Latina rolled her eyes. She didn't much care for being told what to do, but she'd let it slide for once; for the sake of renewing their friendship. "Which I already know she won't. I know her, Q, don't forget that. What do I do afterwards?" she questioned. It made sense, what Quinn said, because Rachel had an opinion on basically everything, and she'd most likely feel the need to tell Santana off. And if she ever wanted a real chance again, she'd just have to sit back and take it – she deserved it anyway, so she really shouldn't complain.

A wicked smile came onto Quinn's face then, "There's _one_ quick way into Rachel Berry's heart."

"And what's that?" Santana asked, her eyes searching Quinn's.

"What does _all_ of her ex-boyfriends have in common?" the blonde continued to question her, her long curls framing her face beautifully, making her look prettier than she'd ever do with her hair back into the mandatory Cheerios ponytail.

Santana couldn't hide the giant smile that came onto her face as realisation settled in. "Music."

There was _one _certain way into Rachel Berry's heart, and it was fairly obvious, really. Because what meant more to Rachel than anything else? What was it that she lived and breathed? It was _music_. So Santana was going to have to serenade her. In Glee. In front of everybody.

Fuck.

**x**

Santana was awoken at nine thirty the next morning by a horrific phone call from one Kurt Hummel. Rolling onto her side and blindly fumbling for her cell phone on the night stand, the Latina gaped in confusion at the name flashing across the screen (_Beyoncé_). Putting the phone to her ear, she didn't even manage to squeak out a sound, before Kurt was talking.

"Ms. Santana Lopez! I am _appalled_ of what I am hearing here. If have from very reliable resources that you and our favourite diva has been more than friends as of late. This pleased me immensely, because if someone deserves a break, it's Rachel. But then I have to hear from _Finn _of all people about the stunt you pulled in Glee Club-"

"Kurt, what-"

"-but no worries, Santana, there is no need to get your fancy Cheerios spanks in a twist though, he's beyond confused about the entire thing. Then, of course, I went to see Rachel. After we begun our tentative friendship, I have come to care immensely about her, and you know what I don't like? You hurting her. She's been crying into my shoulder pads all morning. I am on my way home now, but I will expect you to do something about this!"

Santana blinked. "You done now?" she hoarsely whispered, barely awoken from her peaceful slumber.

Kurt scoffed into the phone. "Yes. I am done now, Ms. Denial. You need to go see her this instant."

"Chillax, alright?" Santana groaned and pushed her covers to the side, slowly placing her bare feet on the cold floor of her bedroom. "I'm getting up right now. I know I need to see her, you don't need to throw a hissy fit."

She could practically imagine Kurt roll his eyes on the other end, as he said, "Girls are so insufferable. I'll be checking up on her later, you better fix it before."

And then he fucking_ hung up the phone_ on her, and Santana just glared at it, willing it with her mind to send a bunch of insults to Kurt's phone. As much as he was right, she didn't want to tell him so. She didn't care for the fact that he suddenly told her what to do in his know-it-all voice, and she most definitely did not want to take relationship advice from someone who'd never had a real relationship. She'd already figured out all this shit yesterday with Quinn (her _best_ friend), and she didn't need some gay fashionista to tell her things.

But still, the Latina got ready in barely twenty minutes, placed a kiss on her brother's forehead and dragged her ass to the Berry residence. She was quite familiar with the drive over there by now, and she found herself thinking more about the upcoming conversation (which she was _so not_ ready for) than she was focusing on her driving. She made it there safely though, and parked her Polo behind Rachel's Prius.

_You can fucking do this, Santana,_ she told herself as she made her way up the small path to the front porch steps, _you need to get your girl back. _

Knocking on the front door, Santana tucked her keys into the depth of her front pocket and nervously bit her lip. Oh shit. What if one of her fathers opened the door? What if they _knew_? Could she face them if that was the case? They'd always been so nice to her, they'd probably never look at her the same again. What if-?

"Hi Leroy!" Santana cheerily said, forcing a giant smile onto her face.

Leroy offered her a small smile back. "Hi Santana. Good morning. I assume you're here to talk to Rachel?"

At least he wasn't scoffing her or anything, so Santana just nodded and followed him inside, kicking off her sneakers in the small hallway. "I'm sorry it's so early. I just really need to talk to Rachel."

The tall man cocked an eyebrow in her direction and smirked. "Well, my husband and I figured out that something serious must have happened, because she was belting out sad songs all evening. The neighbours weren't thrilled. And then Kurt Hummel showed up bright and early this morning and they were locked inside her bedroom for _three hours_. If he hadn't been gay, I'm sure Hiram might've been a bit displeased about that."

Santana shifted awkwardly on her feet and pondered whether or not to come clean to the man. He was always so kind to her – she saw that they had a lot in common, dealing with people like Hiram and Rachel. But she really didn't want him to think less of her. Especially not if she actually managed to make up with Rachel and would become a permanent figure in this household. "I'm really sorry, Leroy, I screwed up, I-"

"It's okay," he cut her off, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, "you don't need to tell me, Sweetheart. Just go up there and fix it."

The Latina breathed a sigh of relief, and turned towards the stairs. "Thanks." she mumbled, glancing back at him.

Leroy gave her a short nod. "I assume that there's more than friendship between the two of you. And I couldn't bare for Rachel to lose someone like you. You're good for her, so I hope that whatever went wrong can be righted."

Santana felt her face flush a bit as she turned on her heels and hurried up the staircase, taking them two at a time. Turning down the hallway towards Rachel's bedroom, she thanked whoever was up there for the fact that Rachel's fathers were so incredibly cool about everything. The diva's door was closed shut and Santana found herself smiling at the gold star taped on it.

She took in a deep breath and knocked on the door – twice.

"Go away!" was the muffled reply from inside, and Santana's insides cringed horribly when she heard the sadness in Rachel's usually so chippy voice.

She knocked again.

"Kurt, if that's you returning with ice cream, I'm not interested!" Rachel all but yelled from the other side of the door.

Hoping that the third time was the charm, Santana tried knocking once more.

Rachel groaned loudly, "Dad! Daddy! I am _not_ in the mood for breakfast!"

Santana decided that that was enough – she wasn't getting anywhere with this, so it'd just benefit everyone if she went right in. Which she did then; she pushed the door open and stepped inside, fully expecting Rachel to maybe work her anger out on the elliptical or perhaps on her sheet music or lyrics. But what she found was completely unexpected – Rachel was tugged beneath a massive load of blankets, curled together on her side, in her giant bed. The Latina stopped in her tracks, just as Rachel's eyes snapped wide open, and she sat up straight.

Her mouth nearly fell off its hinges. "Santana! What are you doing here?"

The cheerleader crossed the floor and gently took a seat by the foot of the singer's bed. She didn't want to pressure her by getting too close, but she also wanted to prove to the other girl that she was serious about this. "Tiny... we need to talk."

Rachel rubbed her already red cheeks furiously and turned her head away from the other girl. "I have nothing to say to you."

"Please listen." Santana heard herself beg. She wasn't above that at this point; she had to fix this, whatever it took. "I'm sorry about yesterday in Glee Club. I screwed up, I know that. I'm just not ready to come out to anyone yet."

The brunette turned her face to let their eyes meet, and small tears were already gathering in her eyelashes. "I didn't expect you to come out to anybody. All I expected was for you to acknowledge that we have something, at least in front of our friends. They'd never judge you, Santana, you know that. Glee's about being true to yourself."

Santana swallowed loudly and folded her hands together in her lap. She knew all this, she did, but it wasn't as easy as that. "Maybe I'm not ready to be true to myself yet."

Rachel scoffed. "You, Santana, you need to acknowledge the fact that you're gay-" she held a hand up to stop Santana, as the other girl was about to protest to this, "you _are_. You're _so gay_. And I'm ready to go there with you, but not like this. You completely humiliated me in front of all of our friends _and_ Mr. Schue. You treated me like I've always been treated by everyone, even though you know how much it hurts me. I can't believe you'd do that."

"I freaked out, okay!" Santana heard herself say, trying to defend her actions, even though she knew that Rachel was right. "They were asking all of these questions, and you were bossing everyone around, and I couldn't overlook that. And when they asked, I knew I should've said something, but I didn't."

Rachel shook her head lightly and turned her eyes towards the ceiling; clearly fascinated with it, as it took all of her attention. She sniffed lowly, and Santana had the strongest urge to reach out, tug her hair behind her ear and pull her into a bone crushing hug; one of those warm, comforting ones, where you just hug and hug for minutes until you feel as though you're all hugged out and everything is okay, no matter what the problem was before. She used to have those with Brittany all the time, and it'd always make her feel better. She really wanted Rachel to feel better, too.

"Tiny..." she whispered then, tentatively reaching a hand out to place it on the brunette's arm, "Don't be mad. I wanna be with you."

Rachel's big chocolate eyes locked with hers again, her gaze overflowing with a lot of emotions that Santana couldn't read at the same time. The other girl was so full of feelings, it was actually a bit scary. Someone so small shouldn't be able to feel all those things at once. "I want to be with you, too." she whispered, her voice cracking over slightly, "But I want to be with the girl who kissed me on the ice rink, who took care of me after Puck's party. I don't wish to be with the girl who keeps pushing me away and hurting me. I'm better than that, and I don't deserve it."

"But Rachel, I'm-"

"You're scared, we already discussed this." the singer firmly said, ripping her arm from Santana's hand. "You're having another severe case of the gay panic, and I'm not going to end up like Brittany. I'm not going to be your punching bag or your anger outlet. I want to get to know you better, to see who you really are beneath all of these things, but you're not letting me inside."

Santana swallowed loudly, and this time it was her turn to keep her eyes away from the other girl. She wasn't comfortable talking about this. "You don't know me." she heard herself mutter.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "No. I don't. And that's exactly my point. Maybe we're just too different. If you're not willing to work for this, then I don't think I have anything left to talk to you about. I'm not desperate enough to be your dirty little secret. I know I'm not easy to be with, believe me, I know..." she trailed off, her eyes shimmering in the sunlight that came through the window, "I'm not popular, and I'm not pretty, not like Brittany."

The Latina snapped her head to the side, firmly looking the other girl in the eye, as her heart fluttered madly inside her chest. "You're _beautiful_."

The diva just looked at her, her gaze shifting from Santana's left eye to her right, as they filled to the brim with small tears.

"Can't we just work on this?" Santana questioned. This was not going like she had hoped it would; honestly, she hadn't thought that Rachel would just forgive her once more, not _this easily_, but she'd hoped that maybe something would be sorted. But Rachel had put up a wall around her heart; even if she was speaking honestly, she wasn't going to just forget this. "You said the other day that we could continue this – whatever it is – and see where it took us. Just you and I, we don't need to involve everyone else, we don't need to discuss our feelings, we're not in too deep yet."

"But that's where you're wrong." Rachel whispered, finally letting those fresh tears spill down her red cheeks. "My feelings are already involved, Santana, and I need to protect myself. So I _can't_ be another of your gay experiments, and I _can't_ be a secret. If you want to do this with me, you'll be my girlfriend, and you'll not be afraid of what our friends might say."

Santana just gaped at the other girl, feeling choked up with the way her heart was thudding madly against her ribcage, and the way all of her air left her lungs in a rush. She could do nothing be stare at the other girl, who had tears running freely down her face, and she wanted to tell her that she could do it, that she could be serious and hold her hand in public. But just the thought of it made her head hurt and her arms raise goosebumps. And even though everything told her she should run for the hills right now, she simply couldn't. Why was that?

"I see." Rachel responded, and with a sigh pointed towards the hallway, "There's the door."

Santana had no idea how she made it out of the room and downstairs, and even into her car. All she could think was that getting one's heart broken must be exactly what this felt like. This shattering feeling of dread that spiralled from her chest and onto the rest of her body. The way that tears kept rolling out of her eyes and soaking into the _Kiss _t-shirt she was wearing. Her hands were shaking as she tried to drive her car down the road, but her feet almost couldn't control the brakes.

If losing Rachel felt like this, it suddenly occurred to the cheerleader that she simply couldn't let that happen.

She needed to fix this, that much was clear to her now. She was going to have to get Puck to help her, because she wanted to sing to Rachel, and she wanted it to be honest and raw. She even had the perfect song in mind, but if that didn't get Rachel to forgive her, than she had no idea what would. She wouldn't be comfortable, signing like this in front of everybody, but it was what she needed to do. She couldn't lose Rachel, so if serenading her was what it took, then she'd get it done.

Turning her her car into her driveway, she grabbed her cell phone and quickly dialled Puck's number. "Puck?" she questioned, the second he answered, "I need your ass at my house in fifteen."

She had _a lot_ of work to do.

* * *

_I know that this chapter was rather short, but I decided to cut if off before the scene where Santana serenades Rachel – I thought it'd be nice to keep her hanging for another chapter ;-) I can't wait for you all to know which song I have in store for them! A lot of you think that Rachel should give Santana the cold shoulder for a very long time after the last chapter, and I agree, I – myself – would not forgive something like that, but let's face it, Rachel really does have a tendency to just forgive and forget and move on. I hope you all liked my Quinn/Santana scene – this was the start of their renewed friendship; I'll be dealing with the Brittany aspect of it in the next chapter, also. _

_Oh. And I've decided that I'm going to finish my other story before I write the next chapter of this one. There's only two chapters left of it, so it seems silly to leave it for much longer. I hope you'll be okay with the fact that it might be a couple of weeks before I post something new for this! _

_And also, on another note – you wanna hear something crazy? My sister and I have managed to make our 75-year-old grandmother completely obsessed with Glee. I usually watch every possible musical with her (my collected is quite huge), and she loves it. So I thought she'd probably enjoy Glee too, and now she's just talking about it constantly, even though she can't really remember their names; she calls Rachel "the tiny one with the big voice", Finn "the dumb, tall one" and uh, Quinn "the blonde, pregnant girl". It's quite hilarious, really. _

_Of course I also need to take a moment to thank you all profusely for your support – it means a lot to me, because it keeps me motivated like crazy. Please tell me what you thought of this as well – even though it's shorter than my usual chapters. _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or "Take Me Or Leave Me". _


	11. You Are the One I Choose

**Chapter Eleven **

**You Are the One I Choose **

"Are you ready for this, Lopez?"

Santana glared at Puck through her lowered lids and took in a deep breath. _No_. "Hell yeah." she whispered, because even though her heart was beating like it might thud out of her chest completely, Santana Lopez did not get scared. Not even when she had to sing a heartfelt solo to her midget kinda-sorta-girlfriend.

Puck didn't believe her one bit, but he hoisted up in his guitar case and placed a comforting arm around her shoulders. "Let's go get you your Berry back, eh?"

The pair made their way inside the choir room, fifteen minutes late, and made sure to interrupt Mr. Schuester in one of his inspirational speeches once more. He paused, a confused look on his face, as the two of them stopped right next to him and didn't take a seat among the others, like he'd presumed they would.

Santana met Quinn's eyes for a few seconds, but when she moved them to Rachel, the diva huffed, crossed her arms across her chest and refused to meet her gaze. Santana felt her throat tighten, and she might need around three bottles of water, but – she told herself to get it together. She had _one_ shot at this, one. And she couldn't afford to mess it up because if she did, Rachel would probably never forgive her. She had to hit the right notes and perform with a certain amount of feeling, or the singer would hate her for screwing up the God-damned song.

"You going to rap another song for us again, Mr. Schue?" Puck teased their teacher, "It's been a while."

Mr. Schuester tilted his head softly to the side and looked from Puck, who was holding his guitar case proudly, to Santana, who was standing there by his side; she hardened her expression and made sure to convey that she was just as fierce and confident as ever. He cocked an eyebrow. "What's happening? Are you going to perform a number for us?"

He looked absolutely pleased with the idea, since Santana knew that it wasn't often that she did anything she didn't _have_ to do. She smirked at him. "Hell yeah, we are." she motioned for him to take a seat among the others, and took the centre of the room, while Puck got settled with his guitar on a stool next to her. "Actually," she begun, with a pointed look in Rachel's direction (she was fucking pleased to see that the fact that Santana was going to perform, had somehow caught the other girl's attention), "I'm going to perform a number, Puck's here to back me up."

The teacher smiled warmly at her, an expectant look across his face. "Sounds wonderful, Santana! What do you have to show us today?"

The Latina grabbed a stool as well and positioned herself next to Puck. "This is not really my usual style, but I'm trying to get a message across, so if you'll _all_ just listen-" she glanced firmly at Rachel at this point, and the brunette squirmed in her seat, "-that would be fucking fantastic. Thank you."

Puck strummed his guitar and soft music filled the choir room as he played the intro. Santana felt herself shift softly from side to side as she closed her eyes and thought of everything she wanted to say with this performance. She was going to put it all out there, and she was very aware that it made her more vulnerable than she was comfortable with, but she also knew that if she wanted to fix what went wrong between them, she had to go for it, and don't hold back. She'd screwed up in front of all of their friends, and she thought that it was only fair if she made things right in front of them, too.

Opening her eyes again, they settled on the tiny brunette in the front row, who was watching the scene, mouth agape, with sceptical eyes and a nose scrunched up in confusion. She was vaguely aware of the fact that Mercedes had whipped out her cell phone and was, unmistakably, recording this for Kurt to take a look at eventually. It should have pissed her off – it _would_ have pissed her off – but today, she just didn't care. The Latina took in a deep breath a softly started to sing.

_Is it your fear of losing  
That makes you go further  
What makes me wonder friend  
Is how I get away with my lies  
'Cause maybe you have noticed  
That I appreciate your company  
And every time you have to go  
I regret I didn't let you know  
I could love you_

Quinn was smiling warmly at her from her seat in the back row, and Mercedes – the gossiper, they all knew she was – was casting quick glances between Santana herself and their resident diva, who was sitting completely still in her seat. Her eyes were wide and vulnerable, and they were locked with the Latina's, who could feel Puck moving his hand next to her, his mere presence calming the nerves, which were slowly vanishing as she came to realise that this wasn't so bad.

She couldn't quite read the look on Rachel's face, but it didn't matter to her; this might've been about Rachel to begin with, but it was quickly becoming about Santana, too. It felt nice to get these things off her chest; what she'd thought, felt, for a very long time, but had been too scared to admit. It didn't matter that Finn was looking at her with a hard stare, or that Brittany was showing a just adorable face of confusion.

What mattered was her and Rachel, and what she wanted to assure her of.  
_  
And when you hung up the phone  
I realized I was alone  
And I can't help it  
You're so beautiful  
I can't help it  
You're so beautiful_

She could feel something inside of her tighten and squeeze hardly, and for a second it was tough to breathe, but when her eyes settled on Rachel's again, she saw a hint of happiness hidden in those brown, expressive pools; small tears were lingering by her eyelids, and Santana knew that this was hitting right where it needed to.

Images of the two of them together flooded through her mind as Santana closed her eyes again and became larger than life. She could see them; their foolish shopping trips, the parties they had attended together, the way Rachel would always look at her as if she was the most important thing in the world right that moment. It was what made everything so great with the other girl; Santana never questioned whether or not she was the person Rachel actually wanted to be with that exact moment. She always felt that Rachel was right there with her, and that nothing else mattered when it was just the two of them.

She could see her; the way she'd snuggle up in her covers in the mornings, one leg on top of them, the other beneath them, to keep the temperature comfortable. Her long toned legs would be bare, not covered by the t-shirt Leroy had given to her to sleep in. She'd hug her pillow close, and lie there on her stomach, her long hair spread on the pillow around her, like a giant halo. And Santana would watch her every morning she woke up before her, swearing, to herself, that she'd never seen anything quite as beautiful as that vision.

_You may have seen the world dear  
But you don't know me  
That's why all of this  
Seems so absurd  
I lie awake at night  
Picturing me and you  
I wish I could make it  
All clear you see  
I could love you_

And that was the thing about it; she actually believed that she could. At some point in the future, when all was right between the two of them, Santana could love her. She could see them together, being together. Not in the cliché, stupid high school way, but in a perfect Santana and Rachel sort of way. Because for some reason or another – the two of them _fit_. She fit better with the other girl then she'd fit with anyone in forever. And Rachel might not know her that well yet, but she understood her. And Santana couldn't imagine her life without her crazy, and that was all that mattered to her.

She shifted her gaze away from the tiny girl, who was staring at her with such soulful eyes, small tears prickling down her cheeks as she clutched the edge of her seat so tightly, her knuckles were turning white. The others were beginning to realise that there was something a lot more behind this performance than they'd first assumed, and while Quinn looked on, pleased and moved, from her place next to Sam, Artie was throwing curious glances to the diva next to him, who was obviously affected by the performance.

_And soon the fall is here  
Turning us cold  
And I can't help it  
You're so beautiful  
I can't help it  
You're so beautiful_

A small smile edged its way across Rachel's face, and this time it was Santana's turn to feel the familiar tickle of tears as they threatened to well up in her eyes. She tried to hold them back, but as she sang her heart out, one lone tear fell, and she furiously wiped it away with the back of her hand.

The cheerleader could feel how desperation was taking its toll on her performance; she wanted to be done so she could have Rachel again, but she also feared what was going to happen once it was all over. The memory of Rachel's kiss, as she softly pressed her full, plumb lips against Santana's repeatedly, was stronger than ever, and the Latina realised just how desperate she was to feel that again; to feel the way Rachel's hands would settled on her shoulders, her neck, her lower backside, or in her hair. The way she'd look at her with those amazing eyes with so much lust and adoration, Santana thought she might drown in it.

Rachel wanted everything too much, she always had. Santana just hoped that she still wanted her. She had to. She simply _had_ to.

_Oh, oh, oh, ooh, the morning light  
But the demons they come at night  
I want to be your appetite  
I want to be your good dreams,  
your bad dreams_

The tears fell heavily now, and Santana didn't even bother wiping them away. She didn't care that the others saw her like this, she cared that Rachel did. She might be more vulnerable and open than she'd even been before, but it mattered, it _mattered_.

She locked her eyes firmly to Rachel's once more, as she swiftly moved towards the last two lines.

_I can't help it  
you're so beautiful _

Rachel was biting her lip, and crying openly, and Santana felt herself relax and slouch her back as Puck softly strummed his guitar a bit more, slowly fading the song out. Santana basically only had eyes for the girl she'd been singing too, but she was vaguely aware of the fact that Quinn was giving her a huge-ass smile and two lame thumb-ups from her seat. It didn't matter that that was so last century; the support meant everything right now, even if Santana would never admit it.

As Puck placed his guitar gently by his side, the entire room broke into hesitant applause. Mr. Schuester was the most eager one; clearly happy to see Santana perform something like this, and Quinn was doing a bad impression of a whistle, while others – like Finn and Mercedes and Tina – slowly clapped their hands together, clearly not sure whether this was reality or not. Rachel was just glancing at Santana, completely emotionless, and Santana was worried what her final feelings on this might be.

"That was wonderful, Santana!" Mr. Schuester said, as the room fell into silence once more. "I've never seen you perform something quite as heartfelt. It's a nice change. But I think a lot of us are wondering what brought this on."

Smoothing her sweaty palms of in her red Cheerios skirt, Santana got off the stool and took a few steps forward, standing so she was right in front of Rachel with a few feet between them. "I'm sorry," she heard herself murmur, her eyes focused solely on the other girl as she tried to block everyone else out, "I shouldn't have done that in front of everyone else, and I shouldn't have denied us. Because Tiny – there _is_ an us. And I'm doing this, right now, in front of the rest of the club, because I'm not afraid to let them know." she drew in a shuttering breath, scared, because Rachel's face was still hard to read, "I'm _in love_ with you." she whispered, and she could hear someone gasp dramatically, "And I wanna _be_ with you... if you'll still have me."

The tiny brunette was glancing into her lap then, completely still and completely silent, so un-like her usual self. And everyone was holding their breath, trying to figure out exactly what was going on, and how much they'd missed, and if this was real life. But Santana took a step back to give Rachel some space. She could feel her pulse beat thickly against her ribcage and she wondered if one could possibly die of anticipation. Because this sure as fuck felt like it. She'd put her heart on the line, and Rachel was taking forever to give her a proper answer.

When the singer looked up at her again, Santana could see how conflicted she was. She had clearly affected her with her song, that was evident, because Quinn had been right; the way into Rachel Berry's heart was through song. The cheerleader just hoped that this had been enough. And then the little diva stood up from her chair and crossed the floor to stop right in front of Santana. All eyes were on them, but the Latina honestly didn't care. Rachel was looking up at her through her long lashes and bangs, and she'd never seemed more beautiful to her. Not even when she was painfully making her wait.

And then it happened. With two tentative hands, Rachel reached out and tugged Santana closer by her open Cheerios jacket. They were nose to nose, their heads slightly bent, and when Rachel finally whispered something, her breath tingled Santana's skin in a teasing manner. "Come here, you." she mumbled, and with those words, locked their lips in a kiss, Santana swore could make her soar off the face of this planet.

Their tongues battled, and people were murmuring and whistling in the background, and her hands found their way into Rachel's brown locks, and that was when Santana realised that she was a goner. This little, crazy-ass, midget diva might possibly be the death of her.

Pulling apart for a fresh amount of air, Rachel wrapped her arms around Santana's neck and the two squeezed each other tightly in a much needed hug. And it was when she lifted Rachel slightly off the ground to hold her tighter, that Santana finally saw how everyone was looking at them; Mercedes were still recording everything on her damn cell phone, Finn looked absolutely pissed, Mr. Schuester looked on with a cocked eyebrow, and Quinn seemed completely satisfied with her own participation in these events. It was only Brittany's expression that caught Santana completely off guard. The other girl looked almost – hurt.

"Man," Puck mumbled next to her, and the two of them broke apart, but somehow Rachel wormed her hand into Santana's, "that was totally hot, ladies!"

Rachel slapped him soundly on his bare arm, just as Santana spat, "Dumb-ass!"

Mercedes finally lowered her cellphone. "These are some news, girls." she stated, and Tina enthusiastically nodded her head next to her.

"Yeah," Mike sniggered, clearly amused, "I thought you only drove stick, Rachel."

Brittany turned to give him a confused look, "No. Rachel drives a _Prius_."

"Not that we're not happy for you," Artie quickly added, blissfully ignoring his girlfriend's comment, "because we are. This is just, uhm, surprising to a lot of us, I guess."

Lauren arched an eyebrow. "So Lopez and Berry like to go down on each other. Big deal."

Mr. Schuester's eyes widened as he squirmed awkwardly in his seat.

Finn angrily shot up from his chair. "This is complete _bull_!" he angrily snapped, and Santana could feel Rachel flinch right next to her, "You're only doing this to hurt me! Rachel's not gay, it's some stupid thing they've cooked up together because I don't want to date either of them."

"Dude!" Sam snapped, his eyes almost bulging out of his head.

"Finn, you're being completely ridiculous." Rachel firmly stated next to Santana, slipping her hand out of hers (she immediately missed the connection. _Shut up_!). "Santana and I have done no such thing, as if we would ever participate in such an obscure ploy. We simply found that we have a lot in common and while we've been through some of the same things, we also seem to harbour a mutual attraction towards each other, and since we're both single, I see no reason why we shouldn't explore that and assuage the incredible amount of hormones I'm _sure_ you know that teenagers posses."

He just glared at them both, his arms crossed firmly across his chest like a little child.

Santana snickered at him. "If this leaves these four walls, Finnocence, I know who to torture. You got that?" she sternly told them. She might be ready to tell their friends, which was what Rachel initially wanted – but she sure as hell wasn't ready to come out to the entire school. Especially not when she hadn't even told her parents yet. And judging by the way Rachel was nodding enthusiastically next to her, she seemed to be okay with that.

"You need to calm the fuck down, dude." Puck said, finally slipping off his chair to hoist his guitar up, "Everything's not about you. And Rach and Lopez here? It's fucking hot, man."

Rachel rolled her eyes at him, but she had a smile on her face nonetheless, "Thank you, Noah, albeit crass, your help is appreciated."

Puck smirked at her, "'Course, babe."

Mr. Schuester had probably decided that this was enough for now, because he stood from his seat amongst his students and happily clapped his hands together. "What do you say that we stop early today, huh? We'll continue Wednesday with the new songs I mentioned earlier."

Everybody scrambled from their seats to get their things together; Finn stomped his way out of the room, and Quinn gave Santana's arm a slight pad as she followed Sam out as well. Mercedes was already on the phone with Kurt, going on and on about what had just occurred (Santana swore she heard his squeal through the small device), and Puck wriggled his eyebrows lamely, before he followed everyone out as well.

Santana turned to smile down at her girlfriend (she really was her girlfriend now, wasn't she?), and rested her forehead against hers. "Don't think that me talking about my feelings is gonna be a regular thing, Tiny, because it makes me want to barf."

Rachel dramatically rolled her eyes. "I expect no such thing, Santana, I will drag it out of you when I have to."

The Latina chuckled lowly, before pecking Rachel's lips gently. Turning away from her, she realised that they weren't alone in the choir room now, like she'd expected them to be; Brittany was still sitting on her chair, staring at the two of them, a look of complete wonder written across her face. Her eyes were gazing between them, lingering a bit longer on Santana that they did on Rachel.

Taking a step towards the blonde cheerleader, Rachel gently questioned, "Are you alright, Brittany?"

"I don't get it." Brittany was quick to reply, shrugging her shoulders slightly, "I thought you didn't want to date girls, San, what made you change your mind? Do you like her better than me?"

Rachel turned her head, and worried eyes met Santana's. The Latina could feel her insides clench in a truly uncomfortable way; not in the lovely way she'd felt it when she was serenading the diva, but in a way that made her heart break into pieces. She'd promised Quinn that she was going to fix their friendship so they could all be together again. It just seemed like she might have to fix even more than she'd first assumed.

Grabbing her arm tightly, Rachel pulled Santana close and leaned up to whisper in her ear. "_Stay_." she firmly said, "Stay and talk to her, sort this out. You deserve to have your friend back, you _need_ her, Baby." she paused as the new nickname slipped across her lips, and they both realised that it wasn't an entirely unpleasant feeling, "I'm going to head to the dance studio and practice Laurey's Dream Ballet..." she breathed out deeply, "Come to my house later, for dinner."

She pressed a kiss to Santana's cheek and was out of the choir room, trolley back in hand, before either of the cheerleaders could comprehend it. Santana just stood there, listening closely as her steps faded away down the hallway, and that was when she realised that they were alone. For the first time in a very long time, she was truly alone with Brittany, and she had no idea how to act around her. Assuming it would be better to just go ahead and get started somehow, she reluctantly took a seat next to the ditzy cheerleader.

"Britt?" she questioned, and the blonde girl turned to meet her eyes; still a very confused expression on her face. "It's not true, you know, what you asked before, I don't like her better than I like you." the Latina tried to explain. It was always difficult to get some things across to Brittany because sometimes she really did only have the comprehension of a small child.

Brittany seemed to think about that for a few seconds, before answering. "But then why do you want to date her and not me? You said you don't date girls."

Santana felt herself soften up, and she reached her hand out to gently tug Brittany's inside her own. "It's different with Rachel, Britt. I don't like her more than I like you, but I like her differently, if you know what I mean?" she could see that Brittany didn't really get it, so she scrambled to explain it better, "With you and I, it was always just fun, you know?"

The blonde nodded eagerly, "Yeah! Our sexy-times were always fun, Santana. I miss them. It's not always as good to have sexy-times with Artie, because he just lies there." she whispered the last part, as if it was some big secret or something.

The Latina felt herself smile at the other girl's apparent innocence. Only people who really knew Brittany, knew she wasn't that innocent. She simply just saw the world in a simpler way, which Santana – sometimes – envied her for. It would be easy to just face the world the way that Brittany did. "I've always liked you as a friend, Britt, just like you've always liked me as a friend. But you see Artie as more than a friend, right?"

"Sure." the blonde nodded her head, "Artie's my boyfriend, he's the guy that I love."

"Rachel's my Artie."

Brittany was quiet for a few seconds as she seemed to let these news sink in. She was thinking, Santana could practically see the wheels turning inside her head, and she wondered what the other girl might ask next. It was always something surprising with Brittany, because her mind simply didn't work the way other people's did. "So..." she trailed off, before leaning in closer, whispering, "Does she just lie there during sexy-times, too?"

Santana bid back a chuckle and squeezed Brittany's hand tightly. "So do you think you'll be okay with me dating a girl now? Even if we couldn't date?"

She bit her lip in thought, "I think so, yeah... but I've really missed you, San. I haven't liked these months when we weren't hanging out. It's not as fun with just Q."

The Latina nodded. "I agree Britt, I've missed you too. And that's why I want us to be friends again!" she eagerly said, knowing that this was exactly what Quinn had wanted her to do. If she played her cards right, she might get out of this with her friendship with Brittany restored. Which would just be frigging fucking awesome, really. Plus, even if she was dating Rachel, she couldn't spend every waking second with her. She was going to need her friends, and she desperately wanted to have both the blonde cheerleaders back in her corner; for real this time. None of those fake friendships that didn't really last when it mattered. She had a feeling that if they fixed this now, with a little time and effort, they'd be back to where they started before high school tore them apart.

"You really do?" Brittany questioned her, and Santana was pleased to see that she seemed a lot happier right now than when they started this conversation.

"I really do." Santana confirmed.

Brittany scrunched her nose up then. "Friends like we were before?"

Shaking her head quickly, the Latina said, "No! No, B, we can't do that. Because you have Artie, remember? And now I have Rachel. So no sexy-times for us anymore. We can be friends again, but friends like we are with Q."

The blonde cheerleader thought about that for a while then, getting these cute worry-lines on her forehead as she murmured softly to herself beneath her breath. Santana was just watching her, hoping that this would all turn out like she hoped it would. Brittany gave her a firm look then. "That's OK, I guess, Q's a really good friend."

Santana couldn't help the smile that came onto her face then. "Yeah, she is." she whispered, as happiness settled everywhere. Had she really just managed to get her girl _and_ her friend back in one afternoon? She'd never felt more accomplished before.

"By the way," Brittany added then, nodding her head up and down a little bit, "Rachel's totally hot, and you guys are super cute together, so I guess I'm okay with that."

The Latina leaned over then, amused and comforted by the familiarity that was Brittany, and wrapped her arms around the other girl, resting her head on her shoulder and giving her a warm hug for the first time in a while. It was nice and soothing, and it was friendly. Santana was happy to know that no romantic feelings lingered for the other cheerleader as she hugged her, and that the feelings of hostility she'd also harboured were gone completely.

"What do you say we go to the mall for some new clothes?" Santana heard herself mutter, and the squeal Brittany responded with sounded a lot like 'yes' in her ears.

**x**

Knocking on the front door to the Berry residence, Santana could feel how eager she was to see Rachel again after the afternoon they had in Glee. Of course she was happy that they'd made up and the sweet kiss they shared in front of the others had been amazing – but she was looking very forward to tackling Rachel onto the diva's bed and do nothing but make out with her all night. She wanted to show her just how much she cared.

Her afternoon with Brittany at the mall had been amusing; they'd bought clothes and laughed, and it felt like things were slowly slipping back to how they used to be. It wasn't awkward or anything, which Santana was very happy for.

As the door opened, Santana came face to face with Hiram, whose face lit up entirely when he saw who was standing on his front porch step. "Santana! Rachel did say that you would be stopping by later." he said, pulling her inside by the hand, "Come in, come in."

The Latina did as the tiny man wanted her to and kicked off her white sneakers, and hung up her Cheerios jacket on the rack. It was getting warmer outside, thankfully, so when she only had to walk from her car to wherever she went, she could wear her Cheerios uniform without the need of a winter coat on top.

Hiram motioned for her to come closer, "Rachel's upstairs, she's taking a bath, ballet class was rough today apparently, she only takes baths when she's completely sore." he readjusted his glasses on his nose and gave her a firm look. "Which works out well for us, because Leroy and I would like to talk to you about something."

The mental image of Rachel just upstairs, soaking in that stylish bathtub of hers had been welcome in Santana's head, until Hiram went and told her that they needed to 'talk' to her about 'something'. Usually that was never good. Gulping to herself, Santana followed the little man into the kitchen, where his – much bigger, _much_ scarier – husband was waiting by the counter.

Hiram sat down right next to him, and Santana slipped onto the barstool she usually sat on whenever the four of them were in the kitchen at the same time. They had their assigned seats and Santana had always been fucking happy that she'd fit in so well around the Berry house without any huge effort on her part.

"So what's up?" she asked them, glancing from Hiram to Leroy, who looked a bit more serious than his husband.

Leroy placed his arms on the table. "Rachel was a lot happier when she came home today after ballet. Happier than she's been in a while."

Santana couldn't hide the satisfied smile that came to her face then; that was her fucking doing. _Hell yeah! _

Hiram nodded in agreement. "She quickly informed us that that's because you've both decided to take your relationship to a whole new level."

The Latina felt herself nod. She knew that these two parents had had to face a lot with Rachel; she'd been bullied since she was a little girl. First for being the only kid with gay parents in all of Lima, but then later for being exactly who she is. No one had ever been truly kind to her, and she'd never hid that fact from her fathers, so they knew all about it. They even knew about what Santana used to do to her – she was just thankful that they'd never seemed to like her less because of it. They were just as forgiving as Rachel, which she really appreciated. If she'd had to make up for everything, she would have been in debt to the Berrys for all eternity.

"I screwed up." she quickly replied to them, all bullshit aside, because this shit was fucking important. "I pussied out and I hurt her. But I regretted it immediately, so I've been trying to make it up her. Today – she finally forgave me." _There_. That was an okay explanation for everything, wasn't it? She really didn't feel like telling them everything that went down – they probably knew already anyway.

Hiram arched an eyebrow and Leroy clenched his fists. "Sure. That's great, Santana, and we're happy that you and Rachel have decided to go there, but now-" he paused, tilting his head slightly to the side to look at his husband, "-now that you're not just friends, we have a few things we'd like to discuss with you."

Santana felt her eyes go wide. Holy shit! Were they fucking serious right now?

"If you ever," Hiram begun, his voice firmer and tougher than Santana had ever heard it, "and we mean _ever_, hurt our little angel, I swear to all that is Holy that you'll regret it. For. the. _rest_. of. your. life."

She could do nothing but glance at them as they sat there, across from her. She had no idea what to respond to that. She'd never thought that Hiram and Leroy would ever be the kind of fathers to say something like that, especially because they'd been so nice to her from the very beginning. Had they given Finn this same speech? And Jesse and Puck? She had a hard time imaging Finn being brave enough to stick around if he was ever on the receiving end of such a speech. And what about the jerk-face St. Douche Bag? He actually _had_ hurt Rachel! Did that mean that that they'd gone after him to kick his ass?

She heard herself gulp.

But then – just like that – two giant grins broke across their faces, and Hiram doubled over in laughter, while Leroy huffed out tiny breaths of air as he chuckled. It took Santana a good thirty seconds to realise that she'd just been played. Fuck those Berry men! They totally just bullshitted her completely! She couldn't help the grin that broke out on her own face though, as she reached across the counter and softly swatted Leroy on the arm.

"That's fucking mean!" she hissed at him.

Hiram was still laughing as he said, "Oh! You should _have seen_ your face. I thought I was being very over the top, but my performance must've been convincing somehow."

Leroy gazed at him lovingly, "Oh, you were wonderful, dear. That was an amazing performance."

Santana shook her head at them which caused her ponytail to whip around her head. "I almost peed my spanks! I thought for _sure_ that you were gonna murder me right now! Damn."

Leroy calmly padded her hand, "No worries, Santana, we couldn't be more thrilled about this new turn of events! We're happy for you two! We always hoped that things might go this way between you."

Hiram nodded eagerly in agreement. "And you should know that you're welcome here at _any_ time. Even if Rachel isn't home."

Santana smiled warmly at the two men in front of her. As much as she sort of hated them at the moment for giving her crap like that, she also couldn't help but feel completely loved because of it. The fact that they took the time to pull something like that on her only meant that they truly did care and that they were happy with her being Rachel's girlfriend. And the added bonus that they were telling her these things right now just let her know that they really meant it. They were seriously the best kind of in-laws any girl could wish for.

"But," Leroy added, and Santana had a feeling that now he really was serious and not only kidding, "after these new turn of events, we will be expecting the two of you to be considerate. We're not dumb enough to presume that teenagers like you two don't engage in physical intimacy with each other – so if you'll be kind enough to only do that when we're _not_ in the house, that would be great."

The cheerleader could only gape at the two men then, truly mortified. Did they just tell her that it was really okay for her to go ahead and have sex with Rachel and not do it in secret? And would they really allow them to be together in Rachel's room with the door closed? Most parents would have been fighting this off and instate an open-door policy, but these two were practically encouraging them to go ahead and do it!

She bit her lip. "Are you sure? Because most parents-"

Hiram waved her off. "We're not most parents, Santana. And we'd rather you do things like that at home than in the bathrooms at school. We've been young once too, we know what it's like. And no matter if we approve or not – you guys will still do it if you feel like it."

Leroy nodded in agreement, "We're just really thankful that she's now dating a girl again so we won't have to worry about her getting pregnant."

"But to be honest," Hiram looked at her husband with wide eyes, "we were never really sure whether or not she and Finn-"

"No but her and Noah must _most definitely_ have-"

"Really, because I think that-"

Santana felt like maybe it was the appropriate time for her to leave the married couple to themselves at this point, so she hopped off the barstool and softly informed them that she was going to see Rachel. They didn't really hear her though, because they were still discussing their daughter and her sex-life (which Santana just found disturbingly weird, but with everything Rachel had told her about them and the time she'd spent with them herself, she knew it was well-meant). So she climbed the stairs instead, hoping to spend some time alone with her girlfriend.

She could hear Rachel humming softly to herself, so she peeked into her bedroom, only to find it empty. Assuming she was still in the bathroom then, the Latina crossed the room and peeked her head through the small gap. There, in all her glory, lay Rachel. Her entire body, except her head, was covered in bubbles; she had her eyes closed and she was quietly humming the tune to _Pervigilo_, which only made Santana's heart flutter in some weird way.

She took a seat on the closed toilet and glanced at the other girl for a few seconds, admiring everything she could now truly call _hers_. She had no idea how long it was going to take to convince Rachel to do what Hiram and Leroy had talked about downstairs, but Santana found that she couldn't wait. She wanted to show Rachel how much she truly cared for her, and she wanted to kiss every inch of tanned skin, and be like one with the other girl.

As if she could feel Santana's intense stare on her, Rachel's eyes snapped open, and a happy smile conquered her face. "Hi." she softly whispered.

"Hi." the cheerleader replied, quickly letting her tongue out to wet her lips. Rachel looked downright edible inside that tub.

"I had a hard time a ballet class," Rachel explained, letting her hand out of the water. She reached out then, grabbed a hold of Santana's right one tightly, as she sat there, elbows on knees, and her chin resting in the palm of her left hand. "I just needed to soothe my muscles."

Santana nodded. "Your father said that."

"I already told them about us." Rachel quickly explained, "They were ecstatic. How are things with Brittany?"

The Latina let her fingers intertwine with the diva's, and she loved the way her darker ones seemed to fit perfectly with her smaller ones, "Wonderfully." she whispered, and she was quite sure she wasn't only talking about things with her old best friend. "Things went perfectly."

Everything was frigging perfect right now. And Santana couldn't wait to explore it further.

Rachel chuckled lowly from her seat in the bathtub. "_Good_."

It fucking was.

* * *

_Oh yeah, I'm back! Thank you so much for being patient with me – I must say, it feels really good to be done with my other story now, because then I can focus solely on this. Which will be awesome, so hopefully updates will come a bit quicker from now on. I want to thank you so much for all your wonderful support, and the comments for the last chapter. _

_So. The song that I used in this chapter was 'Pervigilo' by First Aid Kit. I'd been contemplating what to use for Santana's song since I started writing and I had very briefly settled on Pink's 'Please Don't Leave Me'. The song is a bit overused for this pairing and fanfiction in general, and I desperately wanted to be original, which is why I was very pleased when myriadrun in a review told me about this song. Naturally, I went and listened to it, and it just fit Pezberry and (even more) especially this story so very well! So thank you for that – that really saved my ass, credit goes to you! _

_I hope the rest of you liked it as well. I kept listening to it as I was writing the first part of the chapter, because I really wanted to get the melancholy into Santana's performance too, but man, it's so hard to do that in writing, it's much easier to do on film (they do things like that so wonderfully on Glee). If you're still not feeling it completely, I suggest looking the song up on YouTube, and hopefully it'll make more sense. Oh. And I also have a question about the layout. I will feature more songs in this story, but it's always so difficult with lyrics, because I hate when they take up too much of a chapter, because I hate reading them sometimes. But was it okay the way I did it? I didn't just want to put it all in there in one go, that'd seem stupid. So when I add another song, will it be okay to do it like this again, or do you prefer it in a different way? _

_I hope the talk with Brittany was up to everyone's expectations! She and Quinn will definitely be featured more, as I also expect to have Kurt and Blaine in an upcoming chapter. And still, I have promised a good Finn blow-out, but this was not it – I have plans for him and Santana in the future. I do in no way hate his character, but he's probably the person I like the least on Glee, because I find him very self-centred a lot of the time, and for some reason, people just don't see him that way, which I don't really get. _

_And can I just say that I may have drooled a little bit on my laptop during 'Silly Love Songs'? Who else loved Naya in that outfit? _

_On that note (after this ridiculously long author's note), please tell me what you thought of this chapter!_

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or 'Pervigilo'. (I only changed a few words to make it fit my story better).  
_


	12. Don't You Dare!

**Chapter Twelve **

**Don't You Dare! **

Julita had actually screamed into the frigging phone when Santana told her that she officially had Rachel as her girlfriend now. It's no fucking lie. She actually screamed, and Santana had to move her iPhone a good distance away from her ear so it wouldn't be permanently damaged or something.

And after the ear-piercing sound finally ended, her older sister continued to go into a full ramble about meeting each other, Sunday brunches and telling their parents. Which Santana knew she fucking had to do, but it just wasn't as easy as that. Did she just sit down with them and blurt it out (which was preferably her style), or did she ease them gently into it, maybe hint at it for a couple of weeks before letting them know?

Julita was all for Santana just dragging Rachel along one Sunday and when asked who she was, simply just tell them. Which – honestly – might work best for their family. They were a crazy bunch of weirdos anyway, so it might come in handy. And if they had company, if Rachel was actually present, it'd lessen the risk of her parents taking it badly. Not that she really thought they would. She had a slight feeling they might _know_ it already.

The Latina couldn't quite contain the bounce in her step as she made her way down the hallway, looking for her favourite hobbit. It was quite weird really, because Santana Lopez never bounced, and people were, in fact, giving her strange looks, but she honestly didn't care shit about them. By lunch period, she would have scared them all so badly they felt the need to transfer schools.

Coach Sylvester had had another morning practice, so they had driven to schools separately and had yet to talk today. Talking to your girlfriend before class wasn't a pussy thing to do, was it? Wasn't it, like, normal in a relationship? Santana didn't really know; she'd never actually had a relationship. The closest thing she'd ever had was her booty calls with Puck and the friends with benefits deal she'd had with Brittany. But what the hell. She was Santana Lopez, she could make up her own rules in her own relationship if she wanted to.

She came to a halt when she saw Rachel by her locker; her pink trolley bag was sitting on the floor next to her, and she was clearly humming as she fidgeted with a bunch of things in her locker. Stepping up behind her, Santana realised what the other girl was doing, and had to contain the little surprised gasp she was about to let out – Rachel was decorating the insides of her locker. There was a picture of the two of them taped up where her giant 'Finn' sign had hung when they were a couple; it was one that Hiram had taken of them at the ice rink. They were sitting on the bench with their hot beverages, huddled closely together to keep the cold at bay. Beneath the picture, the diva had now taped a new sign. In bold letters it said 'Santana' with a doodled heart at the end.

The cheerleader couldn't contain the weird sensational feeling in the pit of her stomach, even if she was mortified that someone else might see the inside of Rachel's locker. However she realised that there wasn't such a huge chance at that happening, unless it was one of their fellow Glee Clubbers, so she decided to keep her cool about it – Rachel must know what she was doing.

"Hey Tiny."

Rachel did a funny little jump, clearly having been wrapped up in her own world, and turned to face Santana. A giant smile came onto her face then, when she realised who it was. "Hi!" she cheered, turning to close her locker quickly, "How was Cheerios practice?"

Santana leaned against the row of lockers and found her eyes lingering on Rachel's lips. Damn. She wanted nothing more than to kiss her. "It was..." her throat felt dry. "It was practice. You know Coach Sylvester."

Rachel giggled, "Yes, I do know that she can be rather tough on her cheerleaders. Did you get a chance to suggest my idea of a social outing to Quinn and Brittany?"

The hopeful expression on the diva's face almost made Santana push her backwards to ravish her, but since the hallways were quickly filling with students, she decided that that would probably be a bad idea. But Rachel had just been so excited yesterday evening, when (after they'd made out for a good two hours _and_ finished their homework) she'd told Santana about her, if she said so herself, brilliant idea. The Latina had feared that it wouldn't go down too well with her friends, but they had been surprisingly positive about it.

"Britt was really excited, she wanted to go already tomorrow." Santana said, and couldn't resist reaching out to tug a piece of Rachel's runaway hair behind her ear. "She says she wants to help you find something new to wear."

Rachel's eyes flickered nervously from side to side. "And what about Quinn?"

Santana laughed. Quinn was never really truly positive about anything, but at least she hadn't said 'no'. "She said, and I quote, that she'd be there if she didn't have anything better to do."

The brunette huffed.

"Don't worry, we all know she'll be there." Santana reassured her girlfriend, and the smile on Rachel's face could not have been bigger.

Except it _totally_ could. Because the next day, as the four girls were strolling through the mall after school, it really and truly _was_. The three cheerleaders were still in their uniforms and Rachel was feeling slightly out of place, Santana could tell, and the worst part of it was, that she couldn't grab her hand to reassure her or something. But she seemed truly pleased with this _social outing_. Santana wasn't though, because she didn't feel entirely sure about how she could act with Rachel in front of her friends. They'd see this new side of her that'd probably freak them out a little bit.

Quinn closed her cell phone and turned to look at Santana, who was – without actually touching her – walking as close to Rachel as possible. Brittany was currently running back and forth between the windows and them, but they were used to that. "So. I need some new jeans. I've lost weight since Coach Sylvester demanded our new routines, and I honestly can't say I'd rock a belt."

"Rachel needs jeans, too!" Brittany chipped in, falling into place on Quinn's other side.

At Santana's inquiring look, Rachel shrugged her shoulders, "I suppose some new jeans wouldn't hurt. I actually only own one pair."

Brittany gasped. "That's because you always wear those skirts. Which is okay, I guess, because your butt looks really great in them."

Rachel flushed a deep red and Santana couldn't help but chuckle at her girlfriend's obvious discomfort. She had no idea what she'd signed herself onto with Brittany; that girl was an unstoppable force regarding fashion. She always found new things to wear and mixed things that normally wouldn't go together. She somehow managed to make all of these things cool, so she wouldn't rest until she was satisfied with Rachel's new look as well.

"So we're off to buy jeans, then?" Quinn questioned, turning to make the way towards their favourite jeans shop.

Brittany hummed happily, "Yes! And we also need to find Rachel some plaid shirts. Maybe San, too."

The Latina gave her ditzy friend a confused look and glanced towards her girlfriend briefly. This didn't even make sense to her, and she was fluent in Brittany. Which would make things even more confusing for Rachel who wasn't used to the blonde. "Why would Rachel and I need plaid shirts, B?"

The blonde girl rolled her eyes, and told them, as a matter-of-fact, "Well, you both need to wear jeans and plaid shirts because you're lesbians now. That's what they wear, _I swear_."

Santana really didn't have the heart to tell her that that was such a stupid cliché, mostly because she wasn't able to wipe the mental imagine of Rachel dressed like that away from her brain. But Rachel, of course, took it upon herself to have that talk with Brittany, and the two bounced off together, a little ahead of Quinn and Santana, who fell into step behind them. Quinn wasn't quite able to hide the grin on her face.

"Cut it out, Fabray!" Santana barked, nudging her with her shoulder.

The blonde head-cheerleader laughed. "I'm just really happy. For you and for Berry, but also... just for us. It's good to be back like this, S. You've got no idea how much Brittany and I missed your crude comments when we went to the mall these past months. It's going to be nice to hear your truly _honest _opinion today before I buy something."

Santana sheepishly grinned at her; she couldn't quite hide the fact that she was positively thrilled to be back here, too. It was quite amazing that everything had come together for her like this – she would have never thought she could be so lucky. She knew she was a bitch, and had been a bitch to all these three incredible girls at some point. Yet they all forgave her and liked her like this? She would have thought that karma would have come around to bite her in the ass, but she was thankful that it hadn't. Wrapping an arm around Quinn's shoulder, she steered her into the jeans store in the direction of Brittany and Rachel's mindless chatter, "I love you, too, Q."

They tried on jeans for _ages_. No really. They were fucking an hour and thirty minutes into it, and Quinn was not stopping any time soon. Santana knew that it was important to look good and shit, but she honestly wasn't a very patient person and she never had been. And it just didn't help that Quinn was extremely picky, even when the rest of them told her she looked hot.

Santana already had a pair of dark skinny jeans across her arm, and Rachel was tapping her foot impatiently next to her, her back against the wall outside the dressing room, carrying two pair of jeans as well. Brittany had gone through the racks and without a doubt picked these two out for her; in the right size and everything. As soon as Rachel had slipped them on, Santana had made a mental note to thank Brittany, because the diva looking fucking hot. Santana honestly wanted to devour her.

"Q, for fucking crying out loud!" Santana spat, angrily kicking the closed door into the dressing room, "I'm frigging bored out here!"

Brittany glanced at her, "My grandfather was buried once. But that was after he died."

Rachel took a step closer to the dressing room, "Are you in need of some assistance, Quinn? Because we still need to visit a few other stores, and I'm honestly already running behind my Wednesday schedule! I still need to do yoga before dinner, and tonight I'm going to see my vocal coach, and I have to do warm-ups and scales and-"

Quinn smacked the door open and stuck her head out, "Be quiet, Berry, I don't care much about your Wednesday schedule. And it's alright, I found a pair now."

"Fan-fucking-tastic." Santana whistled. She grabbed Brittany by the arm, "We're gonna go pay, and you two chat. You need to not get on each other's nerves so much."

Rachel's eyes were positively wide and Quinn groaned loudly, before returning to the dressing room. Santana smiled warmly at her girlfriend, before she followed Brittany through the store. She gave the other girl a nod in gratitude, "Thanks for finding Rachel those jeans, Britt."

Brittany sighed heavily. "If she dressed better, the guys would totally do her."

Santana shrugged as they went to the counter, standing behind a pair of giggling middle school girls. "I actually really like the way she usually dresses, with the animal sweaters and stuff. I've gotten used to it, I guess, and it's just so _her_." she heard herself explain. There was a time, when they were first becoming friends, when she'd wanted Rachel to change her style, too, but she quickly realised that the entire essence of Rachel Berry was in her appearance. And if one took that away from her, she truly wasn't Rachel Berry. That didn't mean she wouldn't appreciate it if her girlfriend willingly wore jeans once in a while; it gave her plenty of new ways to ogle her ass.

The guy behind the counter gave them a huge smile as Brittany placed her jeans on the counter, "I want these!" she said, and he smiled handsomely at them both.

"Having a nice day, ladies?" he asked; there was a certain glint in his eyes, and Santana couldn't help but imagine what his abs must look like underneath that t-shirt.

She bit her lip and placed her pair of jeans on the counter too, "My day just got better." she smirked at him.

The poor guy didn't know how to handle himself after the look she threw in his direction. His eyes turned wide for a second, as he gave Brittany the receipt. But he got himself together then, as he slipped her jeans into a red plastic bag, "Really? It did?"

Leaning herself against the counter, Santana let out a throaty chuckle. There was something so amazingly powerful about leaving hot guys speechless. She'd always been able to do it by just battering her eyelashes. It was different when Quinn was there though, because boys found her more obvious beautiful. But Quinn was such a prude, which they quickly learned, and that was when they went Santana's way. "_Most definitely_." she whispered, as she handed him her card.

He grinned again and placed her jeans in a bag as well. Reaching out for it, she gently let her fingers brush his, and that was when things started to get really _interesting_. She felt a very familiar midget hand slip possessively onto her back, and before she had time to say anything to anyone, Rachel had snatched the bag for her and dumped her own purchases onto the counter with a firm glare to the poor boy behind it.

"Let me take that for you," she said to Santana, referring to the bag, "_Baby._"

Santana felt her own eyes widen just like the clerk's had just done, when Rachel tip-toed up and placed a brief – but very saying – peck on Santana's lips. "Uhm..." the Latina could feel her heart thud madly, as she gazed through the shop windows in fear, "thanks, Tiny."

Rachel's smile was giant, yet still restrained as she handed the guy her credit card. "Could you hurry up please, we don't have all day."

As he scrambled to get everything done, Santana grabbed Rachel's arm tightly, forcing her to turn her head, their noses brushing slightly, "_What_ was that?" she hissed. She had made it pretty clear to Rachel that they might be out in front of their friends, but that there was no way in hell she would act like a couple with her in public.

The diva's face hardened as she raised an eyebrow. "You were flirting with him, and don't you dare deny it." she spat back, before she practically ripped the bag and her card out of the clerk's hand and marched out of the store, where Brittany was waiting.

Santana turned around to find Quinn looking at her with a cocked eyebrow. "You _might_ want to go and talk to her." she mumbled with amusement, "It's just an _idea_."

Rolling her eyes at her friend, the Latina hurried in the tiny brunette's tracks (she was seriously quick for such an Oompa-Loompa), only to find her scolding outside, arms crossed angrily across her chest. She huffed and turned her head away when she saw Santana approaching. "What the fuck?" the cheerleader heard herself question, stopping right in front of her girlfriend. She could seriously not be pissed right now. She was the one who acted all possessive in public, and that was so not cool in Santana's book.

Rachel stomped her foot. "Don't even try to tell me you weren't flirting with him!" she whisper-yelled, and her eyes were fucking filled to the brim with tears, and for a second Santana really felt guilty.

"San flirts with everybody." Brittany pitched in, and the Latina was thankful that at least _someone_ was coming to her aid (_stupid_ Quinn and her _stupid_ (sensible) ideas!).

"Babe," Santana whispered, leaning in closer; she was very aware that people could see them and that was why she was not reaching out to her girlfriend at the moment, "you know you can't pull moves like that in public, right? We're not ready for it."

The diva's eyes practically shot lightnings as she dead-panned, "Then don't _make_ me want to pull moves like that!"

Santana groaned, "God! Would you just stop it, already! We were just having a conversation. You know how people see me, Rachel, no matter where I go – that's the reaction I get. You need to get used to it."

Rachel's façade softened a little bit and she lowered her arms, clearly letting Santana back in. "I know that..." she whispered, tentatively placing a hand on Santana's arm (that was okay, wasn't it? Friends did do that, right?), "I just... I don't want to share you, Baby. And I hate the way that other people look at you sometimes. I just want them to know that you're mine."

"You can't stop guys from flirting with me." Santana mumbled, chuckling to herself. Rachel truly was cute when she got all jealous like that. And Santana would probably have enjoyed her possessive streak a bit more if she wasn't so afraid of people seeing them. And she totally would have kissed her right now to _ensure_ her that she was truly hers, but since they were at the mall, there was no way in hell it was going to happen.

Plus, she knew she would have totally blown up if some moron had tried to flirt with Rachel. Santana Lopez just didn't share, so she guessed it was okay if Rachel Berry didn't either.

Rachel nodded dimly. "It's just because you're so incredible, Santana, and I don't want someone to take you away from me."

"Alright, can we stop with the mushy stuff now? You guys are nauseating."

They turned to find Quinn staring at them, clutching her red bag with her jeans, too. Brittany was bouncing right next to her, eager to get some more shopping done. Rachel smiled brightly and questioningly pulled her arm through Santana's. The Latina didn't bother to tell her otherwise; this was comforting to her girlfriend right now, and it wasn't that bad, was it? No one would think it was weird, right?

She was already starting to hate the fact that they couldn't just be themselves with each other.

**x**

Things were getting really fucking hot, really fucking fast.

Santana wasn't quite sure how they ended up from discussing English Lit homework to making out on Rachel's bed, but that was just one of life's big mysteries, apparently. All she could really comprehend was that Rachel's lips were all over her; kissing everywhere the shorter girl could reach. They'd left a wet trail behind them as she kissed all the skin that wasn't constricted by the Latina's tight Cheerios uniform.

And she felt like she was practically on fire. Her hands were roaming all over the diva's body; hungrily groping and trying to familiarize themselves with the enticing curves beneath the green kitty sweater the singer had been spotting all day. Santana could feel the slight curve of Rachel's waist, as she smoothed her hand over her back and down to her thighs, feeling the burning skin of the brunette's taunt legs. There was not an ounce of fat on that girl's body; all those hours on the elliptical really paid off.

Their lips met again, and Santana could hear that Rachel's breathing was matching her own in speed. She opened her mouth slightly, prying the other girl's lips open with her tongue, before it met Rachel's in a heated battle of dominance. None of them really won, but that didn't matter, because the singer was trailing her kisses downwards, and Santana adjusted her neck to give her girlfriend plenty of room to work. She hissed out lowly when the diva bit down on her neck, before gently sucking on her skin to soothe the spot. A low moan erupted from the back of Rachel's mouth as Santana slipped her hands beneath the painfully short skit, letting them spread themselves across the other girl's butt.

Damn, that was a _nice_ butt!

Rachel's nimble fingers sought beneath Santana's shirt, and she couldn't help but whimper as the fingers came into contact with her bra covered breasts.

"Wow," Rachel breathed against her neck, hot breath leaving a trail of chills behind as she looked up and their eyes locked, "breasts!"

Santana couldn't help but chuckle, "And a spectacular pair at that!"

Rachel bit her lip as she subtly pushed her fingers even higher, teasingly slipping beneath the lace fabric, touching just the underside of the cheerleader's breasts. "You're so modest." she whispered, before she shifted slightly, and her knee graced Santana's most sensitive spot.

The Latina whimpered at the contact and found herself pushing her lower body into Rachel's leg once more, desperate for some kind of relief to the aching between her legs. It had been so fucking long since she'd done anything like this. Of course she knew how to take care of herself, but it was never as satisfactory as when someone else was doing it. And Rachel was so fucking beautiful, and all she wanted was to feel her everywhere and never let go. She desperately wanted to be inside her soon, and she was not a patient person.

A little smirk appeared on Rachel's face then, and she lowered her head and pushed Santana's top up a little, trailing her lips across the taunted abs that was now revealed. Santana loved hearing the tiny voices Rachel made as she explored her body, edging her on. She squeezed her hands tightly, rubbing the smaller girl into her core once more, not completely satisfied with the way everything seemed to be buzzing on her, throbbing painfully with no sign of release.

She shifted too, moving her leg a little to the side and thereby gracing Rachel's spot just slightly as well. The other girl mewled in response.

"Mhm.. that felt good."

She guided her girlfriend's lips to hers once more with a hand on the back of her neck, and as mouths met again and again, her hands got tangled in long brown strands of hair, and she shifted once more, rubbing herself against the diva's thigh. She was incredibly wet; she could practically feel it seeping through her underwear, and was therefore fucking thrilled to realise that Rachel was responding by moving her hips against her, too. As they continued to move, Santana could feel her entire body tingling with a familiar, yet unfamiliar feeling. It was different, this with Rachel, on so many levels, yet the feelings it left physically in her body were all the same. It was the emotional stuff that made a difference, and just the way that Rachel kept murmuring her name made everything that much more fantastic.

Santana knew that this wasn't the time to actually do this; despite her promise to Rachel's fathers, they were just downstairs and dinner would be ready at basically any moment now, but damn – she _so_ wanted to do this. She simply couldn't wait to see Rachel's underpants, and hopefully what was underneath them as well. But she also knew that it might be a while before Rachel was truly okay with that; after all, she had been dating Finn for eight months, and he'd never gotten near her underpants. He'd felt lucky when he got to touch her breasts – _outside_ the shirt! But fuck that. The Latina had a good feeling that Rachel was eager to do this with her, because she was most definitely not shy of letting her explore every inch of her body so far.

"Baby," Rachel whispered into her ear, her lower body still moving furiously against Santana's, desperate to ease both of their aches, "we can't do this right now."

Santana caught her lips in a deep kiss, breathing in heavily. "I know – oh."

Rachel giggled lightly. "Must've hit a good spot."

"And don't you _dare_ stop that!" Santana moaned, just about ready to flip them over to really work her magic on the other girl, but that was when Leroy chose to interrupt them from down the stairs;

"Girls! Dinner's ready. You coming?"

_No,_ Santana hissed to herself, _not tonight, Goddamnit! _

The diva pulled herself away from Santana and rested her forehead against her chest; they were both breathing heavily, and even though Santana knew that Rachel would not have slept with her with her fathers just downstairs, she couldn't help but feel very disappointed. Especially because it was going to be hell to have dinner with the Berry men when she was so unrelieved. She _really_ needed to get off tonight.

"Rachel!" Leroy tried once more, his voice somewhat firmer than before, "Santana! _Dinner_."

Pulling away from her, Rachel hollered right back at her father, "Coming, Dad!"

Santana grinned at her, cheering inwardly at the lame innuendo, "This is so not the perfect time."

A low blush rose up Rachel's cheeks, "No, it's most definitely not. We need to talk about this before we end up in another compromising position." she firmly said, before she hopped off the bed and straightened her skirt down. "You ready?"

Rolling off the bed, Santana grabbed her hand tightly, "Let's do it."

**x**

Santana slowly made her way down the tiny staircase that led to the Berry family's basement. She could hear faint guitar strumming making its way up the staircase towards the rest of the house, but because of the closed door on top of the stairs, no one could hear a thing outside of the confined underground space.

Hiram had sent her this way, claiming that Rachel had been working on her music all afternoon in the basement. Apparently, Rachel was only allowed to rehearse down there after their neighbours threatened to file a lawsuit. Her parents had gotten the entire basement soundproofed for her, and the only instrument that wasn't down there was her piano, since that just wasn't possible. And sure, she was allowed to sing and listen to music in her room, but when she was seriously rehearsing on something for Glee Club or her vocal lessons, it always happened in the basement so the neighbours wouldn't complain.

A shy smile came onto Santana's face when she stopped at the end of the staircase and took a look around the room. Rachel was sitting on a stool, her nimble fingers working quickly across one of her guitars as she played, a beautiful melody streaming through the entire room. Her long hair was falling in front of her face, shielding her from view completely, but the look on her face was one of complete concentration.

The Latina's gaze fell on the other things in the room; it was the first time she was down there, and according to Hiram, not many people were allowed to go. Out of all of Rachel's former boyfriends, only Jesse had been fortunate enough to set foot in the diva's most sacred place. Santana felt really happy that Rachel had told her father to go ahead and send her down when she arrived – it made her feel really special, it made her see this side of Rachel Berry that not many people saw. For some reason beyond Santana's comprehension, the diva never played an instrument in Glee Club for the others. It didn't really make sense to the cheerleader, since she thought that Rachel was very good at it. The other day, she'd played a piece for Santana on the grand piano upstairs, and she'd been truly mesmerised, watching her girlfriend work like that. And she knew Rachel – which was why it didn't make much sense that the other girl didn't show off all of her impeccable talents.

The walls were lined with bookshelves filled with musical sheets, and by the end wall was two other guitars; it was a small room, but it felt nice and comfortable, and there was a tiny couch, in which Santana took seat, watching as Rachel kept repeating the same movements over and over, working through something. The melody was stunning, yet simple, and Santana had never heard it before.

Rachel mumbled something to herself and reached over to scratch something out on the notebook she had right next to her. She quickly replaced it with something else and a satisfied smile came onto her face. Holy shit – was she writing _music_?

"Sounds awesome, Tiny."

Rachel's eyes shot up and her eyes lit up completely when they fell on Santana. "Hi! I didn't even hear you come downstairs." she whispered and brushed her long hair onto her back as she sat up straight. "I've been working all day."

Santana tugged her legs beneath herself and motioned toward the notebook. "Are you writing your own song?"

A small blush rose up Rachel's cheeks. "Yes, I've – I've always been writing music, just to have a way to express myself. I'm not that good though, but I felt inspiration sneak up on me after the week we've had."

The Latina had never seen the girl look so bashful about anything she'd done, but it was a nice change in some way. Maybe she didn't feel as secure about this aspect of her artistic talents as she did in others. It was okay though, there was always room for improvement. "So what are you writing about?" she questioned, placing a hand on the couch next to her, padding it for good measure.

Placing her guitar against the wall, Rachel hopped off the stool and crossed the room, to sit down next to Santana. "I was writing about you. Me. Us, I guess." she whispered, leaning in closer to place a lingering kiss on Santana's lips.

"You were writing about me?" Santana whispered back; something started swirling in her chest right then, and it felt a lot like happiness. "Why were you writing about me?"

It came right off the bat, "Because you're amazing."

The Latina couldn't help herself then, she reached her arms out and wrapped them tightly around the singer's neck, pulling her closer so she could press their lips together once more. Rachel eagerly responded, opening her mouth to let Santana's tongue in to play, as she fell on top of the other girl, boxing her in between the armrest and herself. A small moan escaped the cheerleader's throat as Rachel's hand brushed the side of her breast.

She chuckled, "You're killing me with all of this, Tiny... I need you so badly, _soon_."

Their faces were inches apart, as Rachel whispered, "Maybe you won't have to wait so long."

_¡Dios mío! _Santana felt her eyes practically fall out of her head at the prospect of getting some Berry very soon. She wasn't going to pressure Rachel into taking the relationship quicker than she was comfortable with, but damn, she couldn't wait.

"I love it when you speak Spanish." Rachel breathed against her neck, as she lowered her lips to suck gently on the sweet spot beneath Santana's ear.

The Latina's eyelids fluttered close as she shifted slightly in her spot, letting her hand wander into the brunette's hair. "Holy fuck. Did I say that aloud?"

The diva kissed a light trail from her neck and back to her lips, before she replied, "You sure did. And it's so hot. I don't understand a single word, but it sounds sexy!" she mumbled, before their lips met once more and Santana felt herself grow particularly damp once more. It worked like clockwork; all Rachel had to do was kiss her and she'd be ready to go. It was seriously too long since she had gotten any. She was getting pretty frustrated; Rachel's skirt was right there, but fuck it. She wasn't going to go for it unless Rachel made the first move to tell her it was okay.

"I think it's even sexier when you speak French..." Santana muttered into Rachel's ear, trailing her hands down the diva's body, until they were settling possessively on her amazing butt. She remembered the first time she heard Rachel speak in French; she was saying something silly she had to practise for her French class, but the Latina had found it so hot, that Rachel never really got a chance to_ finish_ practising. It was sort of weird that way, Rachel didn't take Spanish like Santana (who only took it back in the day because Quinn and Brittany did), so she wouldn't be able to understand a thing in the Lopez household when they got really going. But it would be fine, even though the diva had mentioned on a lot of occasions that she now regretted taking French to begin with.

Rachel's breath hitched in her throat, and she turned her eyes to devilishly stare at Santana, "Oui, oui, oui..."

Santana just stared at her, for a second completely awestruck. What the hell did she do to deserve this amazing girl who was currently sprawled out on top of her? What had she ever done to be this lucky? She had no fucking idea, but she was thankful every frigging day that she was able to kiss this girl who had those amazing lips. "Don't you dare leave me hanging for long, Tiny." she heard herself say, and even though it wasn't an order, she was deeply serious. The need to be as close to this girl as humanly possible was slowly overtaking her mind; she needed them to be naked together, to touch every perfect part of her skin and leave her marks the most intimate of places. She needed to feel her, to hear her, to _have_ her.

"Mhm don't worry." Rachel replied, brushing a piece of Santana's hair away from her face as she stared down at her, happiness oozing out of her, "I won't, Baby."

_That's a fucking promise_, Santana thought to herself, before she leaned up again, and caught Rachel's lips in another searing kiss.

* * *

_I'm really sorry if the end of the chapter is all kinds of messed up. I'm battling some sort of virus right now, and I swear, I have no voice, and my head's spinning, but I only needed to write part of the last scene, so I decided to go ahead and do it so I could give you an update. I hope my current state is not reflected too badly in it. _

_I hope you liked the Quinn/Brittany/Santana/Rachel action I had in this chapter; I really do want to make sure that those friendships are showed in my story, since some readers have been worried about it. And regarding Santana and her 'flirting' – I don't really want to get a bunch of hateful reviews about it. C'mon people, it's Santana, and no matter how she feels for Rachel, she'll always be Santana. And I just wanted to show that off; and I will most likely make more scenes like that where she does it. So it's nothing to worry about, it won't be a huge deal and have them fighting like crazy, I just wanted to make sure that Santana's still Santana, even if she's in a relationship. _

_I also have a question about the inevitable sex that is going to happen in this story at some point. Are you all craving full-on smut (which will cause me to up the rating to M), or is it okay if I do it more my way so it doesn't get as dirty? For some reason, I'm not sure that'd really fit this story, but that depends on what you think. It's been a few years since I've written smut – I used to do it a lot, but I haven't for a while, so I'm not quite sure how good I'd be at it if I decided to. Anyhow, let me know what you think, please ;-) ? _

_And so! What did you guys think of 'Take Me Or Leave Me' on Glee? I'm not quite sure, I thought it was pretty great, but something was lacking for me, even though I liked the fact that both Rachel and Mercedes seemed to be cracking up in the end (the idea of them singing that to each other really did make me laugh, too). I can honestly say though, that I don't like Amber and Lea's voices together, which might be way they haven't had a duet yet! _

_Anyways. I'm done rambling now. I just want to thank you all so much for your support and your reviews; also those of you whom I don't thank personally, because you review anonymously. I really appreciate it so much! _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee. _


	13. I Look Before I Leap

**Chapter Thirteen **

**I Look Before I Leap **

It felt like they were always arguing about the same damn thing in that frigging Glee Club. Like seriously. Santana got that everybody cared about which songs they had to perform for Regionals, and who got to sing them, but _really_. Did they need to always discuss it like this? The usual suspects (Mercedes and Rachel) were arguing about who got the big solo for the show, while the rest of them were just mindlessly chatting and trying to block the two divas out as they argued with Mr. Schuester.

Santana was leaning back in her chair in the back row; Quinn and Brittany were on her left side, while Puck was on her right. She still refused to sit with Rachel in the front row, because she didn't want to seem too eager to participate. But she couldn't help but let her eyes wander to her girlfriend now that she was sitting with a clear view of her. Rachel and Mercedes were by the grand piano where Mr. Schue was sorting note sheets, and they seemed to be getting more and more worked up. Santana couldn't help but watch Rachel when she was like that; it was so frigging hot. She was so passionate, and the way her skirt rode up when she leaned forward to make a point left a good amount of skin available for Santana to ogle.

Sometimes, it still amazed her how much she had gotten used to watching Rachel. It wasn't creepy in any way – hell, she was dating the girl, she was allowed to, but man. She could watch that girl all day long. She'd spent the better part of the past three weeks staring at her whenever it was possible. Which was something that also still amazed her – they were actually together and it had been _three_ weeks.

Things were going well, they really were. Not that Santana had any other relationships to compare this to, but she really felt like things were going how they were expected to. It was fun and easy most of the time, but then there were smaller fights and disagreements when Rachel threw a fit, or when she needed to call Santana out on her bullshit. The Latina was actually quite surprised at how easy the transition from friends to girlfriends had been. They were practically still the same; except now she had the added bonus that she could kiss and touch Rachel whenever she wanted to.

And holy shit, did she want to?

Sometimes she could hardly keep her hands off the other girl when she was standing by her locker, chatting with either Brittany or Puck. It was so weird, how Santana just wanted to march right up there, push her against that row of lockers and take her. It didn't matter who the fuck was present, she just needed the other girl so badly. Which seriously scared her in a lot of ways, but she'd decided to just go with it.

Rachel whipped around on the spot next to Mercedes with a huff and her short skirt flew up just enough to reveal to Santana that she was wearing lace boy's underwear.

_Goddamn, she's so fucking hot_. Santana licked her lips, before letting her eyes travel from the diva's smooth legs, up her petite waist, lingering just slightly at her breasts, before she met her eyes.

The brunette had an eyebrow cocked as she let out a little giggle, before turning back around to continue her discussion with Mr. Schuester.

"Oh my God, just stop eye-sexing already!" Quinn mumbled, hitting Santana gently on the shoulder.

The Latina's eyes were still focused on her hot little girlfriend, as she absently replied to her blonde friend, "Just because you have no fun in your Ken & Barbie relationship, doesn't meant the rest of us won't."

Puck chuckled from his seat and leaned over, a leering expression in Rachel's direction. "Please tell me you're tapping that already, Lopez. It'd make my wickedest dreams come true."

Santana didn't really know what to say to that, because the truth made her seem like a softie. So instead she gave back with the best defence she could muster, "Shut it, Puckerman!"

Quinn laughed, "Oh you're not. That's priceless."

Puck leaned back in his seat and smirked at her. "You haven't gotten beneath that skirt of hers yet, Lopez? Man, what happened to you, I thought you had game!" he shook his head and shot another lustful gaze in Rachel's direction, which only fuelled the Latina's anger, "Though that does explain a lot."

Santana clenched her fists at her side and told herself to not give into his ploy. He wanted her to lose her shit; it was exactly what he was trying to do – get a rise out of her. But she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. Instead, she decided to calmly participate in the conversation. "_What_ explains a lot, ass-face?"

"Your anger." Puck replied, a look of pure joy across his face, "You're sexually frustrated because you aren't getting any!"

The need to wipe that look off his face was so big, but Santana used every ounce of herself to keep her calm. She wasn't going to let him see how right he was, there was just no way. She would sacrifice her left arm before she admitted that he was right. Because he _was_. She was so fucking sexually frustrated that every goddamn thing turned her on these days. Seriously, all Rachel had to do was brush her frigging hand in the hallway and she'd be ready to go. She could feel her entire body begging for something soon, and the hard part was that she had no idea if it was going to happen or not.

Things really were awesome with Rachel, but fuckety fucking fuck. She needed to sleep with her soon, like, _really soon_. And she'd thought it was going to happen, a lot of times actually. They'd be making out on Rachel's bed (they did that a lot), and everything would grow hot, and they'd lose their tops, and Santana would get to fondle her breasts, and everything seemed to be heading in the exact way the Latina's libido wanted it to, and then – bam! Rachel would put a stop to it, and Santana would be in the need of buckets of cold water to pour on herself. It was frustrating, it really was.

Brittany gave Puck an adorable look, "Getting what?"

"Nothing, B." Santana was quick to snap, firmly putting an end to _this_ conversation. There was no way in hell she was going to talk about this with the (un)Virgin Mary and the guy who wanted beneath her girlfriend's skirt as much as she did herself. Shit was just not fucking happening right now. "Puck's just being an ass. As _usual_."

Quinn chuckled and pushed a piece of her hair behind her ear, "Seriously S, though. We've had it with your bitchy mood. Do whatever needs to be done, okay? I _don't_ want to hear about it, but apparently Puck does."

"Hell yeah!"

"Hear about what?"

Turning their heads to the side, they all found Finn looking at them; he'd been engrossed earlier in a riveting conversation about Snickers bars with Lauren, but apparently she'd deemed him boring by now, because she was talking to Artie, and Finn had turned to them for new entertainment. Santana shared a look with Quinn and felt the need to groan aloud. She had been trying to ignore Finn as much as possible since she and Rachel got together. His constant wounded puppy dog look was getting on her nerves and she knew Rachel felt horrible about him being sad (for some fucked up reason Santana just _didn't_ want to know). But when he was worming his way into their conversation like this, she couldn't protect him from the truth. The truth that _she_ was dating Rachel and he _wasn't_.

Brittany said it, "About S and Rachel having sex."

An annoyed look edged across his features then, and he groaned, turning to stare Santana down with his best impression of a death-glare. It didn't work that well, because he was about as intimidating as a frog, but what the hell. He had no reason to be pissed at her, and Santana was going to give him a piece of her mind soon if he didn't lose the attitude.

"That's right, Finnocence, Rachel has no problem letting _me_ beneath her skirt." she fired right back at him, satisfied with the way her comment seemed to hit him just right. And it wasn't like it was total lie, anyway. She knew for a fact that Rachel had let her go much longer than she had Finn when they were dating. The Latina just hated to think about the fact that some people had gotten longer than she had yet (yet because well – she was _fairly_ certain that she _would_ be going all the way at _some_ point). She shot a glare in Puck's direction at this thought, and couldn't help but let her mind linger on that fucking ballerina that Rachel used to make out with.

Finn got that sad look in his eyes again that he'd been spotting a lot lately and shook his head. "You know what, Santana? It's not fair that you end up getting the girl. You're the reason we split in the first place, and now you have her! Why are you doing this to me? You don't even care about her!"

Before Santana even managed to think of a proper way to kick his ass for saying that, Puck had shoved him off his seat, "Dude, that was out of line!"

Everybody turned to stare at the two boys, who were now glaring each other down. Santana just shook her head at Finn and took a step closer, kneeling down next to him, so she could tell him something in private, "I'm not the reason you split, Finadequate. _You are_." she hissed lowly, before she took her seat next to Quinn again and refused to meet Rachel's eyes; she could feel them on her, from across the room.

"You okay there, Finn?" Mr. Schuester questioned, his eyes lingering on the tall football player for a second, before they moved to look at Puck who just sat there, acting as if nothing even happened.

Finn sat up straight, and gave Santana a firm look, before he turned to Mr. Schuester with his usual dopey expression. "I'm fine, Mr. Schue. I just got dizzy. I'm gonna go see the nurse." he mumbled, before he pushed pass the other Gleeks and shuffled towards the door to the hallway.

Santana was quite pleased to see him go.

Mr. Schuester took the centre of the room then, clapping his hands together in delight. "Alright everybody. Rachel, Mercedes and I have debated long enough. I think we can all safely agree that both of these girls would be fantastic choices for the big solo at Regionals!"

A murmur of agreement sounded throughout the room, and Santana's eyes finally landed on her girlfriend, who was shifting uncomfortably by the piano. The Latina knew her expressions fairly well by now and it was easy to tell that she wasn't too thrilled about whatever agreement they'd finally settled on.

"With that being said," Mr. Schuester continued, "both of these girls seem to believe that they should have the solo. Which is why we'll be having yet _another_ diva-off next week! Mercedes and Rachel will both perform their selected songs and we'll all vote for who we believe should represent us!"

_That makes so much sense_, Santana though to herself, as she watched Rachel move stiffly to her seat next to Artie. Rachel was truly concerned about losing this solo. But of course she would be. Her role at Sectionals had been non-existent, and she probably feared she'd be deemed to 'just' sway in the back at this competition, too. Santana had thought it was okay for Sectionals because the competition wasn't that tough, but for Regionals? Mr. Schuester must be out of his mind if he didn't let Rachel sing for them! They were going up against Vocal Adrenaline (and therefore Sunshine Corazon) again – they'd be completely wiped off the stage if Rachel didn't carry the solo. And they simply _had_ to get to Nationals this year. It was in New York for fuck's sake!

Their teacher dismissed them then, "Alright, I'll see you all tomorrow – we're going to work on the choreography for _I Believe_, it still needs a lot of work and it has to be perfect, guys!"

As the other Gleeks started filing out of the room, Santana moved to console her visibly upset girlfriend. Reaching out, she gently swept a piece of Rachel's brown hair away from her face, before she pulled her closer and pressed her tightly against her chest in a soothing motion. Apparently, that was all it took for Rachel to let the waterworks start. Santana had been able to tell that the tears were just about to start spilling earlier, but the diva had been strong enough to hold them back in front of everybody. Now the smaller girl was sniffling into the Latina's chest, who just awkwardly tried to calm her down by padding her lamely on the head.

"Tiny..." she whispered, running her hand down Rachel's back in a soft motion, "Stop crying, please. It's not worth it."

Rachel pushed away from her then, drying her cheeks off with the sleeve of her sweater. "I'm sorry." she mumbled, giving Santana a sheepish look. "I just get so worked up! I don't mean to sound rude or applaud my own talents, but it's clear to everybody that my song choice would be a much more appealing one than Mercedes'! And I just know everybody is going to vote for her, because, as usual, this will be a popularity contest and not a question of talents."

Santana placed her hands on either side of her face and forced her to lock their eyes. "Maybe it won't be as bad, Rachel. After all, there's a lot of people in here who'd vote for you now. You know I will, Puck too."

A small smile graced Rachel's lips, "That's only two people, Baby."

The cheerleader shrugged, "Well, who knows, maybe you will kick butt and win. We all know you're the star."

A new smile lit Rachel's face up entirely, and Santana found that she loved being the cause of that; she was getting pretty good at this girlfriend stuff; being there for her woman, helping her, consoling her, and not just pissing her off all the time.

"You really think so?" Rachel whispered.

"I fucking know it." Santana assured her, quickly placing a small peck to her lips. "But even so, Tiny. If Mercedes gets to sing the solo? Would it be that bad? We know she can belt it, and since you're singing the duet with Finn, maybe it'd only be fair if she got the solo." she rushed to explain herself; she knew that their best chances at winning would be if Rachel sang the solo, but she also knew that Mr. Schuester had this complex where he wanted everyone to feel special, and there was a huge risk that everybody would be voting for Mercedes on Friday. She just wanted Rachel to prepare for that – in case things really didn't go her way, which Santana had a feeling would be the case.

Rachel made a face and took a step back, effectively putting some space between them. "Of course Mercedes can sing the solo. She's extremely talented. I just, I – I want to do what's best for the club!" she reached for her Glee binder and her pink trolley before turning to look at Santana again. "Is it really that bad? That I, as captain, want to do what's right for us?"

The cheerleader shook her head quickly, stepping closer to the other girl once more, "No it's not, Tiny, it's amazing how hard you work for us."

The diva still looked thoughtful as she nodded her head.

Santana added, "Just think about it, will you? I mean. You don't have to say anything to anyone, you could still perform your choice, I know you've been working really hard on it."

It was fucking true. After Mr. Schuester announced at the beginning of last week that they had to choose their solo for Regionals soon, Rachel had been doing nothing but research and training, and Santana had barely seen her after school. When she went to visit her at home, she ended up playing boardgames with Leroy and Hiram one night, because Rachel was belting it out downstairs (she could fucking _hear her_ even through the soundproofing!).

"I really have been." Rachel replied, as a small smile came onto her face then; it seemed like she was determined to leave this discussion at that, because she turned towards the door, dragging her bag behind her. Santana quickly followed, matching her pace with the other girl's. "What was that with Finn in there, by the way?" she questioned then, a worried expression on her features.

Santana fought the urge to roll her eyes, since she knew from personal experience that that didn't go down very well with Rachel. "He was being obnoxious, okay? He said some stupid shit, and Puck told him to back off before he wiped him off his seat."

The diva dramatically gasped. "He didn't! That could have permanently injured our lead male singer! What wasn't Noah thinking?" she shook her head to herself in disapproval, "If Finn had gotten hurt he wouldn't have been able to dance at Regionals. Granted, he's not that good of a dancer, but it would still have thrown off the entire dynamics of the group!"

The cheerleader stopped then, placing a firm grip on Rachel's arm, which caused the singer to turn and look at her, questions in her chocolate brown eyes. Santana was about done with Rachel tripping over Finn. She was so hard to understand sometimes; she told him off when he said things to her, but she also defended him and felt horrible when he was sad. She was kind of throwing Santana for a loop with this one. "What's it to you?" Santana lowly hissed, ignoring the strange looks that some people were throwing in their direction as they passed them in the hallway, "Why do you care about that idiot? You still have fucking feelings for him?"

Rachel's eyes went completely wide, "No!" she whined, shaking her head dramatically to prove her point, "Of course I don't, I care about Glee Club, Baby, you know that." she took a step closer, lowering her voice, "A displeased Finn will ruin everything. We have to humour him. Who knows what he'll do if he gets _really_ mad at us?" she continued, her eyes flickering nervously from side to side as she gazed around them. "Maybe he'll drop out of the club or _maybe_ he'll tell everyone."

Santana fucking knew that that was what they hadn't wanted to happen; she'd even threatened him personally with bodily harm if he ever told a single soul, but seriously. Right now? She couldn't fucking care less. If that motherfucking douche-bag wanted to tell everyone at McKinley, he could. Santana was sure she could deal with it; she wasn't the most badass, HBIC-type in this school for nothing. She fucking _ruled _these halls, and with Quinn and Puck back in her corner, nothing would touch her and Rachel even if they came out to everybody.

It wasn't like people hadn't noticed how close they were anyway. Jennifer frigging Connelly from the Cheerios had already been busy telling everybody what she thought of their budding 'friendship', and not even Quinn's relentless attitude towards her at practice had been able to shut the blonde bitch up. Jennifer knew she wouldn't be kicked off the squad; she was one of the best flyers they had, right after Santana, because she was so fucking small. So she'd started telling everyone how Rachel would somehow sit in on Cheerios practice, and she'd make these rude comments to Santana in the locker room afterwards. Santana would do her best to get her to shut the fuck up, but she also knew that if she did anything about her threats, Coach Sylvester would kick her off the squad for good. Jennifer knew this too, which was why she didn't stop her snide remarks; they only seemed to be getting harsher.

Santana drew in a deep breath and stared at her girlfriend. "Maybe I don't care that much about that anymore."

A tiny gasp escaped Rachel's mouth as her lips fell open, and her already big eyes got even huger. She swallowed loudly before stepping even closer to the cheerleader, reducing the space between them to almost nothing. "Are you being truthfully honest right now?"

See? That shit right there? That was why Santana was seriously considering coming out with this girl. She couldn't just say 'are you serious?' like most other teenagers would. No, she had to go and be dramatic about it and take a simple sentence and make it into something spectacular. How could she not want to have this adorable person on her arm every day, and proudly let everyone know that she was _off _limits?

The Latina raised a hand out to cup her cheek, "Yes I am. As truthfully honest as I'll ever be, Tiny."

Rachel seemed to think about that for a few seconds as she licked her lips. "But we can't come out here yet. You still haven't told your parents. I still haven't _met_ your parents." she stomped her foot in the end there, just for good measure.

Santana couldn't hold back her chuckle, "Then come to Sunday brunch at my house this weekend. We'll tell them, I'll fucking lay one on your in front of everyone. I'm sure they'll be thrilled."

The smile on the singer's face grew bigger than Santana thought she'd ever seen it. "Really?"

"Fuck yeah!"

Rachel giddily bit her lip, before she turned around to continue down the hall; after all, they did have to get to their next classes. But just as she turned to leave, a mess of cold ice and corn syrup was sent right into her face, and Santana jumped backwards, slamming her back into the row of lockers behind her. Turning her head away from the sight of her girlfriend, slowly wiping her eyes clean with her shaking fingers, Santana saw Azimio and Karofsky, both with very pleased smiles on their faces.

Azimio laughed, "Trying to make another straight girl gay, Berry?" he laughed, giving Karofsky a high-five as they both laughed and made their way down the hallway again.

Santana could see that Rachel's lower lip was trembling badly; and even though she knew that Rachel was still used to this since the original Gleeks still got slushied every once in a while, it had been some time since it had happened – at least what Santana knew of. But she could tell that everything that had happened today was getting to Rachel, and that the brunette was about to let the tears fall again. Fucking no! That frigging Neanderthal did not just slushie _her_ girlfriend! He was not going to get away with this.

"Yo Azimio!" Santana hissed, striding her way down the hallway to meet the two jocks who had now turned to see what she wanted.

Rachel whimpered in the background, "Santana, don't. I'm okay."

Santana ignored her, and turned to push the big football player square in the chest. "You did not just slushie Rachel Berry, did you?" she spat, putting on her bitch façade completely. She was so much smaller than him, but she had to show him that he couldn't mess with her. "She's off limits, you get that, you fucking moron? Or is that too hard to comprehend inside your tiny, little brain? Rachel's _off limits_! If I as much as see you breathe her way, I'm gonna remove your fucking balls with my bare hands and make sure you _never_ date another Cheerio ever again!"

Karofsky stared at her with big eyes, his gaze lingering a second on Rachel, before it turned to Santana again. Azimio though, thought that it was all good and that he had nothing to worry about. "What are you gonna do? You're just another Cheeri-_ho_, Lopez, I know you'd spread your legs for me if I asked!"

The Latina groaned loudly and took a good hold of his open letterman jacket, pulling his face down so it was on level with hers. "You better listen to me, Azimio, if you want to father your own children. Leave Berry alone, alright?" she hissed, and she had a feeling that she might get through to him this time, because he looked absolutely frightened for his manhood, "And you can tell all your idiotic friends the same!"

Ripping himself free of her grasp, Azimio took a step back and padded Karofsky on the shoulder, "C'mon man, the geeks are sticking together now. Even the cheerleaders are getting their freaks on after joining Homo Explosion."

Santana watched them as they made their way down the hall; she was still heaving air in and out roughly, completely worked up about the encounter she'd just had with the boy. There was no way in fucking hell he'd be brave enough to slushie Rachel again, but _if_ he was – well, she was going to make good on her promise to him. No one got away with treating her girlfriend like that, even if said girlfriend was a secret one. Once they came out to everybody, she was pretty sure that no one would have the balls to slushie Rachel again, even if she was gay. And if they did – man, they'd have to feel Santana's wrath.

Turning to look at Rachel, she hissed at the onlookers and they all scrambled for their lives. She wrapped a protective arm around the diva's shoulders and hoisted up in her pink trolley bag. It was painful for her to see Rachel like this; covered in purple goo. "Let's get you cleaned up." Santana whispered into her ear, before leading her towards the nearest bathroom.

**x**

This was the gayest of gay things her and Rachel could ever consider doing. In fact, Santana had no idea why they were doing it in the first place, since it seemed much more appealing to her to stay at the Berry house and make out with her girlfriend until dinner. But of course Rachel would never agree to that; she had all these crazy ideas, and one of them was that they simply just had to – _had to_ – double date with Kurt and Blaine.

So that was how she found herself seated in a booth at _Breadstix_ across from said boys on this Wednesday evening.

Rachel's hand was resting gently on her thigh beneath the table as she scooped vegan pasta into her mouth, listening to Kurt and Blaine talk about the number they had been rehearsing for Regionals. Santana herself was twirling pasta onto her spoon, wondering if Rachel would break up with her if she sent the meal back when she was almost done, claiming it was 'not satisfactory'. Something told her that she'd most definitely be cut off from everything if she pulled that one.

Instead she decided to listen to the two guys across from her. They still weren't dating, but according to Rachel (who'd yammered on about it all afternoon as she got ready) Kurt really wanted to. And Blaine had told Kurt that he liked him as well, but that he just wanted to take things slowly, since neither of them had actually ever been in a relationship before. Santana thought to herself that they'd be good together, but she wasn't going to say that aloud or anything.

"So Finn's been very pissed off lately." Kurt informed them then, effectively ending their conversation about Glee Club (which really, was about time; there were only so many things they could discuss without giving their set-lists away to each other). He shot a pointed glare in Santana's direction.

She could feel Rachel's hand on her leg tense slightly, and the Latina shot Kurt a look herself, "Finn's been behaving like a moron, and he's somehow gotten it inside his thick skull that we're only doing this to hurt him."

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Yes, he has been spending an awful lot of time mumbling things like 'Latina bitch', 'not gay' and 'complete bullshit' beneath his breath. We've learned to tune him out."

Santana snickered to herself and turned her eyes back to her food.

Rachel placed both her hands on the table then and smiled awkwardly at the boy across from her, "Look, I know he's your bother Kurt, and you know as well as I do, that I actually care about Finn, I just-" she cut herself off, somehow not finding the exact words she needed to explain herself to him, "I'm sorry, but he treated me horribly."

The Latina almost choked on the spoonful of pasta she'd just shoved into her mouth, and she could see across from her that Blaine's eyes were almost popping out of his head. She turned to look at her girlfriend, disguising her surprise with a coughing-fit. She really was shocked to hear those words come out of Rachel's mouth, because no matter how much of an idiot Finn had been to her, she'd almost been too blind to see it; at least she hadn't admitted it. Had she somehow seen the light now? Santana was proud of her.

Kurt's jaw clenched slightly at the news, but Santana didn't blame him. He was friends with Rachel now; they'd been closer after Christmas than he'd been with even Mercedes. But Finn was still his brother, so it was difficult for him to figure out where his loyalty lay. "How do you mean?" he questioned then, shooting a worried glance at Santana.

Rachel brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear and barely shrugged her shoulder. "I just realised. I know he lied to me for a very long time, and I guess I see his reasons for that. He said he loved me. But before that, when he was still with Quinn, he still treated me horribly. He even cheated on her with me, and I'm sorry, but I just don't think I can humour that sort of behaviour anymore."

The story about Finn cheating on Quinn was – apparently – news to Kurt too, if the look on his face was any indication at all.

The diva continued, now with Santana's hand carefully perched across her thigh. "Even when we dated, he said he loved me, but he never stood up for me, and he didn't back me up. He was still embarrassed to be seen with me, and that's just not what you do when you love someone."

All four occupants of this table nodded in agreement at that fact; they were all worried about this at one point or another. To have to hide because of who you loved. And wasn't it stupid that a guy like Finn had had the most amazing girlfriend and still didn't want to take her out because he thought she dressed weirdly? Santana wanted to punch his stupid face for ever treating Rachel like that. And it was clear that the other girl had lost some of herself in order to please the guy. The cheerleader was going to make sure that that never happened in their relationship.

"But even so," Rachel finished and offered Kurt a giant Rachel Berry smile as she reached across the table and grabbed his hand tightly, "I still feel bad about him being so sad. I really want to be friends. And Finn and I are singing the duet for Regionals, and I just can't do that if he's still mad at me. It's gonna cost us the win."

Blaine offered her a little smirk, "That won't be why you don't win, Rachel," he teased her, "we'll be winning, of course."

Rachel stuck her tongue out at him. "In your dreams, Anderson."

Santana chuckled along with the other three.

Kurt flipped Rachel's hand over then, intertwining their fingers lovingly as he tilted his head to the side and watched her. "I think you should just humour him for a while, Rachel. You know Finn, he'll get over himself eventually."

Rolling her eyes, Santana bit back her snide remark. She was fucking done humouring Finn Hudson. They'd been doing nothing but that since this whole thing started. Even in Glee, where she was supposed to be able to be herself, she couldn't hug and kiss Rachel like she really wanted to, because fucking Finn was there, and it'd make him feel bad. It was annoying the fuck out of her, and she hoped Finn would move on soon, otherwise she was going to lose her shit on him.

Blaine nodded his head in agreement and said, "Finn just really loved you, Rachel. It was clear to everybody. And you were together for a while, even though I wasn't there, Kurt's told me everything. Of course it's going to be hard for him to get over you."

Rachel glanced at Santana through the corner of her eye, and the Latina squirmed in her seat. It was weird with them, really, because even though Rachel had just gotten out of an eight month relationship, they'd never even discussed her _not_ being over Finn. It had never even occurred to Santana that Rachel might have needed someone to talk to – or maybe even some time to be alone and get over it. It had never been an issue with them, because Rachel always seemed so okay about it.

The diva's hand somehow found Santana's beneath the table. "I guess it's just hard for me to realise because I ended up moving on much faster than I'd anticipated."

The two boys nodded at that, and an uncomfortable silence filled the table then. The four teens just stared at each other, and Santana turned her attention towards her food once more, but realised that that ship had sailed; she'd eaten everything. Which – thankfully – meant they might be leaving soon. Sneaking a glance at the others' plates, it was only Rachel who wasn't done. But that surprised no one since the girl are slower than a bird and talked all the time.

"I'm just gonna head to the bathroom real quick." Rachel whispered, placing a lingering kiss on the cheerleader's cheek, before she pushed her way pass her, her hand gracing bare skin, which left tingles behind. Santana couldn't hide the goofy grin on her face as she watched Rachel walk away.

"Oh my God," Kurt mumbled, flippantly smiling at Santana, "she totally broke you, didn't she, Ms. Santana Lopez? You're actually in love with Rachel Berry."

Wiping the grin off her face, Santana shot him daggers from across the table. "Shut your fucking mouth, Beyoncé, and stop talking so damn much."

Blaine raised an eyebrow, clearly not well-adversed in the true nature of Santana's personality.

Kurt wasn't that easily scared off though, because he'd known her for far longer, and Santana knew he took pleasure into watching her squirm whenever it was possible. Which was why he certainly wasn't going to let this go. "Blaine and I invited your girls here because I had hoped that an opportunity like this would come along."

Santana reached her spoon across the table and scooped some of Rachel's pasta onto it, before glaring at him. "An opportunity like _what_, Kurtsie?" she sweetly questioned him, before stuffing her mouth with her girlfriend's leftover food. She was quite certain Rachel was done, because otherwise she wouldn't have gone to the bathroom.

"An opportunity for you and I to be alone without Rachel nearby, of course." Kurt said to her, leaning back in his seat slightly. He crossed his legs and placed both hands on his knee. "Blaine and I even planned for him to lure Rachel away if necessary, but our favourite diva managed to do that on her own."

Blaine nodded again, mimicking Kurt's position, which – quite frankly – made them look like a couple of douche-bags, "We just wanted to be sure that you weren't going to hurt Rachel..." he trailed off, clearly hesitating as he glanced briefly at Kurt, "But I feel like this is a little pointless now, Kurt, because it's quite clear to me that she's whipped."

Kurt simply just smiled and brushed a piece of his hair back.

Santana scoffed. "I am not whipped, thank you very much."

"But honey, you so are." Kurt whispered, just as Rachel made her way towards the table again, squeezing her way into the back of the booth once more. Santana shot Kurt a firm glare, and the boy had the audacity to just smile wickedly at her.

Rachel reached for Santana's hand once more and was brave enough to let them rest together on the table next to her plate. "What are we all talking about?"

With another glare from Santana, Kurt simply said, "Costumes. For Regionals. They've very important, you know."

"Oh my God!" Rachel piped up, her eyes turning round, "You have _no idea_! Mr. Schuester is clearly delusional if he thinks that we can-"

And that's when Santana started to tone her out and grabbed her plate to eat the rest of her food.

**x**

It was going to happen, Santana could feel it. There was something about the way that Rachel looked at her, when she opened the front door for her that evening, that just told Santana that tonight was the night. Rachel's dads were going on one of their all-night dates, they had ordered in from the only Chinese restaurant in Lima, and it was clear that Rachel had done something special about her appearance this particular night. And Santana could literally feel the anticipation tingling just beneath her skin.

Even while they were eating, she couldn't help but watch the way that Rachel's mouth worked when she tried to eat with her chopsticks without dropping the food into her lap; or the way she'd sigh contently when she took a sip of the red wine that her fathers had put out for them. It was even hard to concentrate because the top she was wearing moulded her breasts just the right way, and her shorts cut off right beneath her ass, and there was just way too much skin on display for Santana to be able to focus.

So it was only natural that they ended up on Rachel's bed afterwards, their lips attached, and hands lingering, searching for something more, as they moved across bodies. She could feel the way that Rachel was clinging to her, and she thought that maybe her girlfriend was getting desperate for something more as well; if she was half as affected by this that Santana was, she had to be getting desperate.

Trailing her hand up beneath Rachel's top, Santana let her fingers grace across the her perky breasts, groaning in satisfaction as she felt the hard form of a nipple against her thumb. Rachel pulled her closer; their lips meeting again and again, as breathing got ragged and nothing could be heard inside the bedroom other than their frantic panting as things heated up.

She was so beautiful beneath her, Santana thought. She loved the way her hair was spread on the pillow below her, and the way her creamy skin was in contrast to the white sheets they lay on. She could practically hear the way her heart beat, and everywhere her tiny fingers touched the Latina's skin, a trail of goosebumps were left behind. There was something in her eyes that night, and it looked a lot like need.

And there was something about the way she kissed her that made it almost impossible for her to breathe. She liked that feeling. She liked it a lot.

Feeling particularly secure that things were headed in that direction, Santana graced her hand downwards, away from Rachel's breasts, teasingly tickling her bellybutton and her abs, before she let it travel lower, slowly dipping her fingers beneath the waistband of Rachel's shorts.

And that was when her hand was pushed away, and the tiny brunette sat up straight.

"Santana, no." she whispered, heaving air in and out desperately as she tried to catch her breath.

Rolling onto her back, the Latina screwed her eyes shut and didn't even bother hiding her disappointment. She groaned loudly and smacked a hand onto her forehead. Fucking _fuck_! This thing had started to occur way too often for her liking. Wasn't it about time they did the deed? She sure as hell felt like they'd waited long enough. And she just _wanted_ her. She just needed her _so badly_ it hurt sometimes. Like literally, there were these pangs in her chest and all she wanted was to crawl inside of her and feel every inch of skin, and just – just be as close to her as it was humanly possible.

Rachel placed a shaky hand on her still heaving chest, and Santana snapped her eyes open at the touch. "Baby?"

The Latina sighed heavily and moved her upper body, so she was rested on her elbows. "What the hell, Rachel?" she questioned; it wasn't harsh, it wasn't demanding, because she'd never force the other girl to do anything she didn't want to. But it was desperate, because she simply couldn't hide it anymore. "Why are you always pushing me away? Do you not want me?"

It was fucking nuts to hear those words leave her own lips. Never – _never!_ - in all the years Santana had been sexually active, had she _ever_ doubted herself. She'd been used to boys flocking around her, even since Puck told all the guys in middle school that she'd gone down on him beneath the bleachers after a game one night. They were thirteen, and the next day, Matt Rutherford had asked her if she'd do the same for him. She'd said yes, of course, and that was how her reputation came to a start. She'd always been wanted, _always_. And it fucking sucked that Rachel was making her doubt whether or not they should do this. No one had ever turned her down.

Blinking at her, Rachel scooted closer to her on the sheets. "Of course I want you, Santana! What would make you think otherwise?" she paused, her huge doe eyes looking down at Santana in that completely adorable way that just made the Latina want to hug her and never let go. "I'm here with you, you're my girlfriend, I think it's pretty clear to everybody that I want this a lot."

"Then why the fuck do you keep pushing my hand away when I try to get closer to you?" Santana snapped, and she instantly regretted it, because the look on Rachel's face made her want to shoot herself. She'd never meant to talk to Rachel like that, but again – she was frustrated and desperate, and these things just came out of her.

Rachel furrowed her brow and awkwardly let her hands rest inside her lap. "These things are just special for girls like me. It's a huge step. It means a lot."

_Huh? _What the frigging shit was she going on about now? Santana really couldn't follow her. "But I don't get it." Santana whispered, pulling herself up so she was mirroring Rachel's position. "I mean – you were with Puck and that ballerina girl. You had no problem giving it up to them, so I just don't understand why we're still just making out. Is it because we need to have dated longer?"

Now it was Rachel's turn to look utterly confused for a few seconds. Her one eyebrow was cocked as she watched the Latina, her mouth slightly agape. It was clear to Santana as well, that somewhere along the way, someone must have misunderstood _something_, because apparently they were so not on the same page. _At all_.

"What are you talking about?" Rachel whispered and reached a hand out to gently tug Santana's inside her own. "Santana, Baby-" she paused, their eyes locking firmly, "-I'm a virgin."

Santana felt like somehow she was the idiot right now. Because – what? _Huh? A virgin? But she said that-? _Santana bit her lip and let her eyes linger on the crumpled sheets at her feet. What the frigging frack? Rachel was a virgin? But what about Azimio's sister, and what about cheating on Finn with Puck? She'd told her all of those things, how could she-? The Latina scratched the side of her head in complete confusion as her gaze met the other girl's yet again. "What?"

Giggling, Rachel leaned over and cupped her cheek, "I'm a virgin, Baby. Did you think I was not?"

Santana could feel her face grow hot for some reason, and that shit just didn't fly. Santana Lopez did not blush, not even in front of her girlfriend. She tried to masquerade it with a nervous chuckle. "Well yeah..." she whispered, now finally meeting Rachel's eyes again for a longer time. It was hard work not trying to pull them away from her. "There was Azimio's sister and Puck, and-"

Rachel let her hand fall back onto the mattress and placed a lingering kiss to Santana's lips. "I never slept with either of them. What would make you think that?"

Santana appreciated that she could be so honest about this; that they could just talk about all of this without stuttering and blushing and fumbling around the words. Rachel had come a long way since that little girl who sat in front of the other Glee girls last year, wondering if she should sleep with Jesse St. James. Santana was proud at her for growing up like that, maturing so much. And she had a feeling that a lot of that was due to herself and Puck.

The Latina couldn't hide the little smile on her face, because apparently she'd been assuming all the wrong things since this started, and now there was a very good reason why Rachel hadn't let her beneath her skirt yet – it was uncharted territory and no one had ever been there before. Thinking of it like that gave Santana an itch to get there; she was going to be her _first_. Still, she was slightly confused about the matter, so she was going to need answers, "You said that Azimio walked in on you guys on his sister's bed, though."

Nodding her head, Rachel explained, "Yes of course. But we were only kissing." she hit Santana lightly across the arm, "She was only fourteen!"

Shrugging her shoulders, Santana replied, "Well, I was thirteen the first time I got it on with a boy."

Rachel gasped dramatically.

"Shit's totally true." the cheerleader continued to explain, and once more she was reminded of how completely different she and Rachel really were. They literally had no things in common, but for some reason, the fact that they liked each other? It was enough to keep them going. And it sure as hell always made for interesting days, even if it also made for plenty of arguments.

The diva shook her head, but there was a loving glint in her eye.

Santana continued, pressing the subject more. "But what about you and Puck? It sounded like you guys did it."

Rachel shook her head pointedly. "Noah and I only made out on my bed one afternoon."

Raising an eyebrow, Santana couldn't believe what she was hearing. They seriously _only_ made out? How could Finn break up with Rachel over a frigging make-out session? That was just so lame! Well whatever. His loss was her gain, or however the fuck that saying goes. "Finn broke up with you because of that? Fucking dickhead. But Tiny," she paused, cocking an eyebrow at her, "you said to me that Puck took your virginity!"

A faint blush rose up Rachel's cheeks. "No I didn't. I said I wanted it to be him. Not that he ever actually did the deed."

Well fuck her. Santana couldn't believe that Puck had been able to resist this gorgeous girl if she'd been lying beneath him, asking him to sleep with her. Dude had way more will-power than she'd ever thought. She had to give him credit for that, even if she didn't understand him. Finn totally deserved whatever he got. "So you're really a virgin? Now I feel like a fucking ass-hat for pressuring you, Tiny."

"Oh, will you stop it! You didn't pressure me." Rachel quickly explained, a small smile making its way onto her face again, as the tension inside the room vanished little by little. "And it's not like I really _am_ a virgin in the physical sense, I've just... I've never had sexual intercourse with another human being."

Santana couldn't help the tiny groan that escaped her lips when she realised what the fuck _that_ meant. She swore, that girl must be out to kill her or something. Why the fuck else would she say something like that when Santana was already horny as hell? Shit's not fucking cool.

The Latina decided to swipe all thoughts of Rachel... doing _that_... out of her head and squeezed her girlfriend's hand tightly. "I'm sorry if I've seem like a bad girlfriend for pushing you so much, then. I honestly just didn't understand what the big deal was, but now I get it." she smiled warmly at her, and was happy to see that Rachel wasn't mad at all, "And we're going to wait until you tell me you're ready. No pressure from me. And when it happens, Tiny, I swear, I'm going to make it perfect for you."

The smile on Rachel's face grew even bigger as she reached across the bed and wrapped her arms tightly around Santana's neck. "I never doubted that you would, Baby. Just the fact that it's you and me – it's going to make it as perfect as anything can possibly be."

Santana really couldn't agree with her more.

* * *

_Thank you so much for tuning in for another chapter! I hope you guys liked it. I decided to skip a little ahead in time, and also throw in a little Kurt and Blaine because I just love them together. Next chapter will definitely have the Sunday brunch with the Lopez family, so I hope you're all up for that! I'm also still trying to slowly build up to the point where Finn just can't take it anymore, and also to the point where Santana and Rachel will have to come out to the entire school. _

_I'm sorry if there's many mistakes, but I'm still stick with a very foggy head, so if it's very horrible, I promise to go back and edit them out later. _

_I want to thank you so much for all the support you guys have given me so far with this fiction. It means a lot to me to have loyal readers like you guys, and I just love getting your inputs and your ideas! You're really the best :) _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or RENT. _


	14. So Be Mine

**Chapter Fourteen**

**So Be Mine**

Santana couldn't hide her smile when she saw the familiar Prius come to a stop against the curb right outside of her house. Pulling herself away from the front porch with the overhang, she wrapped her blazer tighter around herself and hurried down the driveway to greet her girlfriend.

Rachel was just opening the trunk of her car, when Santana placed a hand on the lower part of her back, and whispered into her ear, "Hola."

The diva did a little squeal and turned to hug the Latina tightly, "Hi! I'm not late, am I? I got up _very_ early this morning to make kugel with caramel and apples." she quickly rattled off while reaching into the car to grab a box. She thereafter pushed it excitedly into Santana's hands. "I do realise that you probably prefer a different sort of breakfast, but I was always taught how rude it is to go somewhere empty-handed. So I decided that it would be appropriate enough to bake something in relation to my Jewish inheritance. You don't have to eat it. It's the thought that counts."

Santana couldn't help the grin on her face. Rachel was excited to be there, and even though Santana had feared this very day since she started dating the shorter girl, she was sort of glad that it was now finally happening. Rachel deserved to meet her family, and the cheerleader sort of wanted to show her off, too. "It's quite alright, Tiny, I bet Mamá will love you for it." she assured her.

The other girl just smiled her famous Rachel Berry smile in return.

"Why's your guitar in your trunk?" Santana questioned then, eyeing the prized possession. Rachel was always very careful with all of her things (especially when it was regarding the arts, because _God forbid_ something happened to keep her away from them), so it was sort of weird to see her guitar just lying there.

Closing the trunk and locking the car, they made their way to the house while Rachel replied, "Well, I had a guitar jamming session with Noah last night. He's teaching me some things, because one can never learn from too many different people. But I left it at his house because we ended up watching movies, so I actually _just_ picked it up on my way over here."

Santana nodded and wrapped her free arm around Rachel's shoulder. It was a lot easier to be comfortable with Rachel's friendship with Puck now that she _knew _that he hadn't popped her cherry. It wasn't like she was jealous or would have forbidden the other girl to spend time with him or anything; she just felt more at ease about it now for some reason. Hell, who was she kidding? She _knew_ why. She was never good at sharing, and Santana Lopez did most certainly_ not_ share her girlfriend with anybody. She would have fucking made his life a living _hell_ if she knew he was spending time with her if he'd been her first.

They paused beneath the overhang, right in front of the front door. Everybody else was already inside, and Santana had a bad feeling that someone might be watching their every move through the kitchen window, but she had to make sure that Rachel was properly prepared for what was to come. Her family was fucking nuts, and there was no reason to hide that. The Latina reached a hand out and tugged a piece of Rachel's hair behind her ear; the other girl had dressed the way she best knew how, Santana could tell. Her hair was pulled back with a headband, and she wasn't even wearing knee socks today, but a pair of the jeans Brittany had picked out for her at the mall. Santana had a good feeling that she wouldn't be wearing an animal sweater underneath her jacket either.

"I have to warn you," she softly whispered, "they're a bit nuts. I'm sure they'll love you – how could they not? But... they're frigging crazy. Just so you know."

Rachel grinned warmly at her. "Well, I deal with myself everyday, and I've been told I'm crazy, so we should be good to go."

The cheerleader couldn't help herself; she leaned forward and gently pressed a kiss to the other girl's lips. "Thanks for doing this." she whispered, before she pressed a hand to the doorknob and the pair went inside.

And as soon as the door smacked close behind them, several people stuck their heads into the hallway, and while Rachel hesitated, unsure of what to do, Santana rolled her eyes. Her old Abuela Lopez was grinning madly from the doorway into the kitchen, and Julita, Oscar and two of her moron cousins were watching them from the doorway into the dining room.

Santana kicked off her shoes and told them off, "¡Ay dios mío! _Guys_! Could you not stare at her like she's some animal at the fucking zoo? ¡_Idiotas_!" she gave them the finger, and they all scurried away from the doorway. Turning to Rachel, she grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, they're frigging annoying. I'll tell them to back the fuck off."

Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "It's okay, Santana. I'm flattered. They're just excited to meet me! And I'm excited to meet them! This will be wonderful."

Grabbing her hand, Santana wondered why she ever thought this would end badly. Of course Rachel would love to meet the entire family. And knowing her, she'd charm her way into all of their hearts. She was the _perfect_ person to bring home to meet the folks. She had all admirable qualities; she was hard-working, polite, got good grades, knew what she wanted, and was destined to get out of this shit-hole town. "I'm just gonna introduce you to the 'rents first, alright?" she whispered into her ear, as they made their way into the kitchen, where Santana's mother was cooking with Abuela Lopez, two of Santana's aunts and her brother's wife.

They all turned to look at the two girls as they entered the kitchen, and Santana nudged Rachel forward slightly. "Everybody! This is Rachel. She's my uhm – she's my _girlfriend_." she finished firmly. It felt sort of weird to come out and say it like that, but there was no way in hell she was hiding it from her parents, and Rachel really wanted all the cards on the table so they could come out at school as well. Which was what Santana wanted, too.

"Hello." Rachel smiled, putting her hand out there for someone to shake. "It's very nice to meet you all. Thank you for having me."

Santana shot a pointed glare in her mother's direction because no one was moving, and Carla Lopez took a step forward to gently shake the diva's hand. "Hola Rachel, nice to meet you. I'm Carla Lopez, I'm Santana's mother."

Rachel's smile could not have been bigger. "I could see that!" she replied, her eyes moving from Carla to Santana, then back to Carla, "The resemblance is uncanny."

"Psh," Santana broke in, shoving the box of kugel into her mother's hand, "it's nothing like you and Shelby, that's for sure."

"I made kugel." Rachel then continued to say, pointing towards the box, as a sort of explanation for Carla, "As a thank-you for having me. I don't know if it's any good, because I never made it with regular milk before, but it's with apples and caramel. And I hope you find it adequately tasteful."

Carla turned to Santana with questions in her eyes, and Santana could do nothing but grin at her. Yes, she knew her mother was wondering if this girl was for real, but she surely was. At Santana's sheepish grin and shrug, Carla turned back to Rachel then and pulled her in for a brief hug. "Welcome to the Lopez family, I have a feeling you're going to fit right in here, Sweetie."

Rachel looked completely surprised for a second, before she grinned and turned to find her favourite spot; up against Santana's side, with her arm around her waist. Santana placed a lingering kiss to her temple and watched as her mother opened the box and turned to put the kugel onto a plate for the breakfast table. She then continued to whisper into Rachel's ear who the rest of the people inside the room was.

Abuela Lopez crossed the floor then and stuck her old nose all the way into Rachel's face as she looked her up and down through her thick glasses. "You don't look Latino." she said then, taking a step back, which Santana was very thankful for.

Rachel shook her head, "No. I'm not, I'm – well, I'm Jewish, I guess. Actually, I've been raised in a household that houses two different religions, so it's sort of hard to say. But I do attend Temple."

Santana squeezed her tighter. "You always refer to yourself as Jewish. And you have a Jewish nose."

The diva gasped. "Hey!"

"Don't worry, I love your nose." Santana continued to whisper into her ear.

Abuela Lopez was still watching them very closely. "But your skin tone is almost as dark as Santana's." she whispered, and Santana felt herself squirm, because it was very clear that her abuela was trying to figure out whether or not she thought that Rachel was acceptable for her granddaughter. It had happened when all of her siblings brought someone home as well; it always did. She had almost made Brittany cry with all of her questions because the blonde girl had been too confused to answer them properly.

Rachel didn't seem too phased though. Santana was happy that she knew how to carry herself, and it didn't hurt that the other girl was very eager to tell everyone about her parents if they wanted to listen. "My parents are biracial." she said then, with a confident smile as she straightened her back up a little bit. Santana had never really thought too much about that though; she'd been sure after she met Hiram that he must have fathered Rachel, but now she had to reconsider, because it was the truth – Rachel's skin was _much_ darker than Hiram or Shelby's.

Carla Lopez turned around then and looked at Rachel as well. "Oh. So they raised you in both faiths? Thankfully we never had to worry about that. I found myself a good Latino man, which my parents appreciated. But that's admirable, it really is. So what do your parents work with?"

Rachel turned to give Santana a brief look, but the Latina nudged her to continue. If her family had any problems with gay people, then they would have certainly said something by now, so she figured Rachel might as well lay everything on the table. Rachel seemed happy to do so, "My dad Leroy is a lawyer, and Daddy – his name's Hiram – is a psychologist."

This seemed to peak her mother's interest, because she immediately started to question Rachel all about her fathers and how they got her, and Rachel – always eager to tell the turkey-baster story – got very into it, so Santana shuffled up against the wall and watched them with curious eyes. She could tell that everything was going well – not that she'd thought it wouldn't. Her mother seemed to absolutely love Rachel, and Santana knew that her father would as well. Especially when he heard about all of Rachel's accomplishments, because that was something he thought very highly of. He worked in advertising, while Santana's mother was a plastic surgeon at Lima General.

She also took this opportunity to blatantly ogle the way Rachel's butt seemed to shine to its full potential in those jeans, and she made a mental not to properly thank Brittany once more for her fashion choice. The diva was also wearing a red plaid shirt, which just made her look so deliciously fuckable; yet, with the headband in place in her hair, she somehow managed to look like a good girl as well.

The cheerleader looked up when she felt her sister take a spot next to her against the wall. "She's really tiny, Santa." Julita mumbled, with a sideways grin, "Even tinier than you, and you've always been skinny. Heck, I'm sure Oz must be taller than her!"

Santana grinned. "Well yeah. Don't tell her that, she'll throw a fucking tantrum or something. She _hates_ it when people comment on her height."

Julita chuckled. "Mamá really seems to like her."

Staring at her girlfriend, Santana had a feeling that things were going to be fine with them. Rachel was now blabbing on about Shelby and Beth and her mother listened carefully while she prepared the rest of their brunch. It was probably wonderful for her mother to have someone like Rachel, a young girl who loved to talk, because after Julita left, Carla had worked exceptionally hard at getting Santana to open up, which just never seemed to happen at all.

Her sister licked her lips then and turned her body slightly to the side, to stare down at her sister. "Santa..." she wondered, glancing at Rachel through the corners of her eyes, "There's something really familiar about the way she carries herself... You said she was from Glee Club?"

Sighing, Santana knew she had to come clean to her sister about who Rachel _really_ was. At one point or another, someone was going to ask them how they met, and Rachel was going to start talking about New Directions and it'd eventually come out that she was the star. Santana might as well tell her sister herself, even if she was afraid of her reaction. "Julita, I swear to all that is fucking holy, that if you scream when I tell you this, I'll maim you. Got it?"

Julita's eyes were wide with curiosity, and she didn't seem phased at all with the threats; she was too used to Santana's ways by now, so the threats were quite pointless, but Santana always made sure to say them anyway. "What, Santa Claus? What is it?" she eagerly questioned, bouncing a little on her feet.

"Rach is the star of our Glee Club, that's why you recognize her." Santana mumbled, shifting awkwardly on her feet. She had a bad feeling about this, a very, very bad feeling...

The older Lopez sister turned her head to the side then, and just as her eyes landed on Rachel, a loud shriek erupted from her. "Oh my God, it's true!" she squealed, before jumping up and down excitedly.

The rest of the people in the kitchen turned to look at them with confused faces; Rachel chuckled lowly and bit her lip as she met Santana's eyes. The Latina could see the questions floating around in there; she wanted to know what was up, and what had happened, but of course she didn't find it appropriate to just ask right then.

"What's going on mija?" Carla questioned with an arched eyebrow in her daughters' direction. She was pretty used to them by now, Santana knew, but they always amused her anyway – either that or infuriated her. It was never somewhere in between.

Santana nudged her sister in the side before she could spill the beans. She'd promised to be cool, and Santana really didn't want to deal with this right now; Rachel didn't deserve to have some fucking crazy Latina woman pounce on her at ten thirty on a Sunday.

Julita shot Santana a mean glare, but seemed to compose herself. "Nothing, Mamá, I just couldn't believe that Santana actually managed to score someone." she threw that in for kicks, because she knew Santana wouldn't say anything, since she was doing it for her. "I'm gonna go tell Oscar these wonderful news!" she giddily whispered, before she stared dreamily at Rachel and was out of the kitchen, ignoring the blow Santana sent her way when she whispered 'bitch'.

Rachel stepped up to her then and lovingly placed a long kiss on her lips. "Your mother is really nice, Baby." she mumbled, wrapping her arms around Santana's waist, as the Latina wound her own around the diva's shoulders. They were nose to nose, as they gazed into each other's eyes. "It's so wonderful that you have such a huge family. I only have Dad and Daddy – and one grandfather."

Santana brushed her nose against the other girl's, before she let their lips reconnect once more. "You don't have any cousins or anything?"

Rachel shook her head. "No. Dad's family cut him off when he told them he was gay. They haven't spoken since he was seventeen." she whispered, a conflicted look across her face; Santana could only imagine how sorry she must feel for her father, and the Latina felt her heart hurt a little bit too for what Leroy had had to go through as a teenager. "And Daddy doesn't have any siblings, only his father is still alive. So there's really no big family gatherings at the Berrys'!"

The Latina squeezed her girlfriend closer in a vain attempt to make her feel slightly better. "Oh. But now you can meet the rest of the lunatics, and I swear, Tiny, when you're done, you'll be happy to have a small family."

The diva giggled as the pair made their way into the other room where short introductions were made, and Santana made sure to let it slip to her father that Rachel had a perfect GPA and participated in a shitload of extra-curricular activities. She could tell that Rachel was a bit overwhelmed when she learned exactly how many Lopezes there were at this brunch, but she pretended that everything was cool and answered a bunch of questions when Santana's family members became just a little too nosey.

But thankfully people started loading their plates with food then, and the couple did the same, before taking a seat in a corner where they could eat in peace. Santana's plate was loaded with _Magdalenas_ and she'd made sure to cut a huge-ass piece of that kugel too, just to please her girlfriend (who knew, maybe it tasted good? She liked apples, she liked caramel – it seemed like a _fine_ combination to her). Rachel's plate was filled with all different kinds of fruits instead, which didn't really surprise the Latina; Rachel practically survived on this, it was all she liked to eat.

Santana was not regretting bringing her here, but she found it a little difficult to be truly herself with the other girl now that they were 'on display' to her entire family. She shifted awkwardly in her seat and smiled sheepishly at the other girl. "Sorry about all of this. You're having fun, right?"

Rachel hummed eagerly. "I really am. You have a lovely family, Santana."

The Latina chuckled to herself. Many things could be said about her family, but 'lovely' sure as fuck wasn't one of them.

"I was actually wondering," Rachel begun then, happily chewing away on a piece of honey melon, "if you wanted to come spend the night with me. I know we have school tomorrow, but Daddy had a conference in Toronto, and Dad decided to join him, so I'm all alone. It would be fun with some company for the evening."

Santana couldn't help herself, a huge grin covered her features as she wiggled her eyebrows at her girlfriend, "Really? What did you have in mind, Ms. Berry?" she whispered. The entire idea of having the house to themselves sounded fantastic, even if Santana knew it wouldn't be like that. They'd make out, sure, but she was going to stay true to her promise by not pressuring Rachel into anything.

Rachel chuckled. "Oh, I have a lot of things in mind." she whispered teasingly and then she- _holy fucking shit_! She frigging _winked _at her. Santana almost dropped her recently cut piece of kugel into her lap.

Oh. And that was when things got even more interesting (Santana had been certain that giving Rachel an invitation to Sunday brunch would be like giving her an invitation to Mayhem, but so far things had been surprisingly mellow. Up until now that is). Julita and Oscar came to join them then, both balancing a shitload of food and drinks, and the second they sat down next to them, her older sister (that fucking _bitch_!) started to tell Rachel all about Santana's childhood and the fucked-up embarrassing things she'd done.

Santana groaned and hit her sister not-so-gently on the arm. "Shut the fuck up, Julita! Do you enjoy seeing me in misery or something like that?"

Julita flashed her a giant smile, all her teeth showing. "I do enjoy that, yes. It's not often that we can get you to blush, Santa!"

This caused Rachel to laugh even harder than she'd done throughout their former conversation. "Oh! That's fantastic. You call her 'Santa'?" she giggled, glancing at Santana with so much adoration, that the Latina couldn't even get mad at her for humouring her stupid sister.

The oldest Lopez girl nodded eagerly. "Yeah!"

"I call her 'Satana'." Rachel revealed, which caused both of them to break into a fit of giggles again, and Santana just wanted to bury herself or something like that. Why was it so fun to make her feel ridiculous? Had someone named today 'Make fun of Santana day' without even letting her know? Shit was so not cool! She might as well just just die or change her name or something. She did not sign up for having a girlfriend who'd make fun of her like this. Just sayin'.

Rachel leaned over then to press a long kiss to her cheek. "I'm sorry, Baby, I hardly call you that. I like you too much!"

Santana grinned at her (and what was up with that shit, really? It was like, lately, she couldn't just stay mad at her, she just kept grinning like an idiot no matter what happened. Shit was so not alright!), "I like you too, Tiny."

"¡Ay dios mío!, you two are sickeningly cute." Julita mumbled, before placing her plate on the table in front of them.

Oscar tugged her sleeve then. "Can I do it now, Julita? Can I?"

Julita laughed and nudged him gently, "Sure hermanito, you can do it now. Remember what we practised in the bathroom?"

The little Lopez nodded eagerly, before he slipped off his chair and landed on the floor right in front of Rachel. The diva watched him curiously, as he took her hand, and Santana had a bad fucking feeling about this. And she was going to fucking kill her sister for allowing him to go through with it (and for humouring his crazy idea). And just as she sent a glare in Julita's direction, Oscar slipped out a ring that looked eerily familiar (it was Julita's; she always wore that fucking thing) and looked up at Rachel with wide eyes.

"Rachel!" he happily said as he held the ring up in front of her face, "Will you be my wife? When I'm old enough. Can you wait for me?"

The brunette met Santana's eyes for a second, clearly very amused by the entire thing, and Santana couldn't help it; she thought it was cute as hell, too. She'd predicted this, that was for sure. As soon as Julita had told Oscar that Rachel was 'that girl' from New Directions, he must've begged for her to let him do this. And it was cute, it really was. Plus, she could just never be mad at Oscar. But she was going to dislike him a great deal if he stole Rachel away from her. So she leaped forward and circled her hands around his waist as she lifted him up.

"No way, hermanito!" she told him, as he squealed and she chuckled, "You can't just propose to my girlfriend. Do you have any idea how sad I'd be if you took her away from me?"

Oscar giggled. "I wanna marry her, Santana. She sings so good!"

Rachel aw'ed and it was easy to tell that she was completely sold. "Oh, you're so sweet, Oscar." she said to him and reached out to cup his cheek. "But I'm very much in love with your sister, so I'm afraid I'll have to decline." she turned him down, but pressed a short kiss to his cheek nonetheless.

Oscar giggled again and wormed his way out of Santana's grasp. "Just wait until I'm old enough! Then we can get married and you can sing for me all the time!" he announced brightly, before he turned around and ran out of the room.

Julita broke into a full-blown belly-laugh while the rest of the Lopezes who were lingering around the room laughed as well. Santana groaned and shot Rachel an apologetic smile. Rachel just shrugged her shoulders and leaned over to give her plenty of kisses, which really was very okay with the Latina.

"Oz is such a little spas!" Santana exclaimed to her as she shook her head. "He's been in love with you since he saw you perform _Don't Rain on My Parade _last year at Sectionals."

Rachel couldn't hide her surprise. "Really?"

Julita butted in, "Oh yeah. We all came to watch Santa Claus here, but man, we could hardly believe our ears when you sang that song! Mamá loves Barbra Streisand, and when Santana told us that you belted it out on the fly – she was amazed by you."

Rachel, who never used to hold back when someone complimented her on her talents, actually had the decency to look very shy about the praise. "It's one of my best performances to this date, actually. I'd been working on that specific song since I was four." she mumbled.

Santana squeezed her girlfriend tightly and Julita just nodded, seemingly very impressed. They all turned their heads to the side though, when Carla came towards them, carrying Oscar, who had a guilty look across his face. He was protesting wildly, but she held form, and put him onto the floor, so he could step forward and return the ring to Julita who was happy to accept it. Carla though, gave Rachel a quizzical look.

"My son just proposed to you, didn't he?"

A blush rose up Rachel's cheeks as she nodded. "Yes. He requested that I wait a few years for him."

Carla rolled her eyes, "Muchacho loco." she mumbled, shaking her head, "But he did say something interesting... You met Santana in Glee Club, right?"

Santana groaned out loud, "Mamá, could you not!" she hissed, throwing in one of her angriest glares for good measure.

"Dios mío, it's true then!" Carla exclaimed, eagerly taking the seat Oscar had occupied earlier. "You didn't tell me you were the star of New Directions! You have such an amazing voice!"

"Thank you." Rachel whispered, a genuine smile on her lips.

Carla smiled warmly as well. "Will you please sing a song for us? I would love to hear what you can do."

Julita nodded eagerly, "Oh please! Please sing a song for us, Rachel."

Santana squeezed her tighter and shook her head. "Stop being idiots, you two. She's not gonna fucking sing for you. Leave her alone."

Carla completely ignored her daughter and continued to stare at Rachel instead, which just annoyed Santana even further. "Will you please?"

Rachel seemed hesitant for a few seconds, but eventually she nodded. "I do – on principle – never say no to a performance or a chance to showcase my talents, so it should be my utmost pleasure to perform a song for you today."

Santana could feel her eyes go wide, but she should have known. Rachel Berry never turned down an opportunity to sing anything, and when they practically begged her, it was no wonder that she agreed. That girl needed applause to function properly, and if some people were willing to give it to her without her having to beg them? Well, of course she'd take advantage of that. The Latina felt the need to assure her, nonetheless, that she certainly shouldn't feel obliged to do it. "Tiny," she whispered into her ear, "it's okay for you to say no."

The brunette smiled warmly at her then, "Oh no worries! My guitar is just in my car, you know, so I think I'll pick it up and play myself." she eagerly replied, and before she stood up, she pressed a kiss to Santana's lips, and hurried out of the room, a certain bounce in her step.

The youngest of the three Lopezes glared at the other two. "You are fucking unbelievable. Did it ever occur to you to leave her alone?"

"But mija!" Carla protested, and Santana had the strongest urge to wipe that grin off her face, "You didn't tell me you were dating _the star_ of the club! She's going to go places, you know! You're lucky to have a girl like her."

"Believe me, Mamá," Santana whispered, nodding her head, "believe me, I know."

And that was how, five minutes later, Santana found herself sitting between an excited Oscar, who was bouncing in his seat, and her mother, who was eyeing Rachel with the biggest smile on her face. Rachel could not have made a better impression on Carla Lopez than accepting her request for an impromptu performance. Santana wasn't quite sure it was a good idea though, because her family was bound to get crazy, and Rachel had never really played the guitar in front of anyone like this before. But the diva seemed contend as she took a seat on one of the barstools from the kitchen and smiled warmly at the small audience that had gathered to hear her sing.

She locked her eyes with Santana's as she spoke, "A few weeks ago, Santana sang me a song in Glee Club to – what do you say? - win me over, I guess." she chuckled and Santana felt herself squirm at the memory, especially when Julita stuck her tongue out at her to mock her, "And I've been working on this ever since then, because I wanted to return the favour. I guess now is just as good a time as any other. I wrote it myself, and I hope you like it, Baby."

_Sometimes I watch you while you're sleeping  
I see you're having dreams tonight  
And I know just by the way you're breathing  
That I'm a vision in your mind_

Rachel strummed the guitar carefully, and she still wasn't brave enough on the instrument to look at them all the time, but when she did glance up, her chocolate brown eyes met Santana's, and the Latina loved the way that they were shining with so much honesty and truthfulness. She meant every word she sang, the cheerleader was certain of that. And she was beautiful; her hair swept to the side gently so it didn't get in the way, and her tiny fingers moving across the instrument as she softly sang the words right from her heart.

She was the perfect picture. And Santana had never seen her like this before; it was so different from the Rachel who usually performed in Glee or at competitions. Her voice was softer, gentler, and the entire performance was more intimate in a way she could never be when she was belting it out in front of a full auditorium of people. And it amazed Santana, really, that she could do this just as well as her show-tunes or the stuff they usually did in Glee. Rachel had always opened up completely when she performed; actually, she pretty much wore her emotions for everyone to see all the time, but this was somehow different. Or maybe Santana was biased because she was singing to her – _about_ her.

_Wherever you may go, my love,  
Wherever you may be  
All that matters in this world  
Is just lying next to me  
So sleep tight, sweetheart, you're free_

Oscar was rocking back and forth in his seat as he tapped his fingers against the side of the chair, munching away on a lollipop that Carla had stuffed into his mouth for the performance. However, Carla herself was smiling warmly at the tiny brunette in front of them; sometimes she'd tilt her head slightly to the side and her gaze would land on her daughter instead. Santana was very aware of that fact, but she really couldn't be bothered to meet her mother's eyes. She was focused completely on her girlfriend and the way she was making her feel. And sure, she was grinning like some fucking retarded moron, and it was in front of everybody to see, but what the fuck did it really matter? She was in love, and she sure as hell wasn't going to deny that.

Julita nudged her gently with her foot, and for a second, their eyes met, and her older sister mouthed, 'She's amazing'. And all Santana could do was nod, before her eyes found their way back to her girl.

_So beautiful, you make me smile  
So wonderful, you're in my life  
Incredible, that you are mine  
So beautiful, you give me life  
You bring me joy, you bring me sight_

The Latina could feel her face grow hot at the intense look Rachel was giving her, while she was singing those amazing things. Really, she felt like it was fucking unnecessary for her to say those things about her. They were already dating, which meant she didn't have to win her over. Which really meant then, that she actually _meant_ what she was singing. For Rachel hadn't just rehearsed this and decided to sing it for her; she'd actually written the music and the words, and everything came straight from her heart as she strummed her acoustic guitar with more and more power.

And sure, Santana had heard plenty of times that she was 'hot' and 'awesome' and all of those things. Boys said that to her all the time to get her to fuck them. But it was so different to hear words like 'beautiful' and 'wonderful' come out of Rachel's mouth. Because the diva wasn't just trying to lure her into her sheets, she actually meant them. And to be called beautiful by a girl who was that stunning herself... it was just amazing. Because to Santana, there was no discussion about who was more beautiful and who brought who joy. All of those things that Rachel was saying, she felt like she could be saying them right back.

_I watch the way you love your family  
And how everyone looks to you  
And I don't wanna be here standing  
If you didn't hold me, Baby, hold me up like you do_

And Santana reached her hand over then, placing an arm around her younger brother to pull him a little bit closer. Rachel smiled from her seat, grinning as she sung the words. Santana knew that she'd never seen her really interact with any of her family members, but Rachel had been there when she was on the phone with Julita, or complaining about her mother, heck even gushing about Oscar and what he'd done the night before. And there had always been something in her eyes as she watched her when she spoke; she actually listened to these things, like they actually _mattered_.

Which was different, because the Latina had never had a relationship with anybody where it was okay to talk about these things; where it was okay to talk about anything and not just bump the uglies all afternoon. And with Quinn and Brittany, she'd had friendships. But those friendships had only housed complaints about Coach Sylvester or boys, or maybe thoughts on fashion and gossip. They had never really opened up with each other – not until recently where they'd decided to start anew and really _be _there for each other. Which, fortunately, Rachel had a huge part in doing as well. Santana really did owe a lot to this girl already.

_Wherever I may go, my love  
Wherever I may be  
I know my dreams will find you  
Just lying next to me  
So sleep tight, sweetheart, you're free_

What the fuck had she ever done to deserve a girl like Rachel Berry anyway? Rachel could do so much better than her, yet she still wanted to be with her. For some fucked up reason, she actually decided to stick around through all the bullshit and everything. She was going to be this amazing person in New York one day; she'd accomplish everything she'd ever worked for, and Santana had no idea if she'd even get good enough grades to get out of Lima. Hopefully cheerleading would pull through for her and be her ticket out of this hell-hole, but for Rachel, there was never really any question about it. Everyone who knew Rachel Berry, knew that she was going to make it big. She was getting the fuck out of this town and she'd probably never look back. She was destined for greatness, yet there she was, dating the cheerleader who used to be horrible to her.

Santana was thankful, of course, that Rachel had decided to give them a chance, because she couldn't imagine what it'd be like without the other girl now. She hoped with all her heart that they'd be together, at least until it was necessary for them to break up due to college or something. She wanted to spend the rest of high school with Rachel Berry and be one of those couples that just worked. Even if everything told her that they were too different and fought too much _because_ they were so different, she just knew that they could work because they _fit_.

And fuck if it made her sound like some stupid, retarded, frigging love-sick moron! She could admit it now; she really fucking _wanted_ this girl.

_So beautiful, you make me smile  
So wonderful, you're in my life  
Incredible, that you are mine  
So beautiful, you give me life  
You bring me joy, you bring me sight _

_You're so, so, so beautiful  
Baby _

Rachel's fingers slowly stopped strumming the guitar and the Lopez family started softly applauding her, as a hint of red rose up her cheeks. Oscar bounced off his seat and ran to her, eager to learn about the guitar and singing, and just Rachel in general. And Santana met her eye and knew that they could talk about this later; when they were alone. Because right now, Oscar was taking over Rachel's time, and Julita was padding Santana on the back in a manner that told her she was impressed.

Carla pulled Santana in for a strong hug and pressed several kisses to her forehead, "Mija, I'm so happy you found a girl like that. Your father and I were worried that you would be bringing Brittany home like this one day."

Santana smiled shyly at her mother, "So you knew I was gay?"

"¡Ay! Of course we did, Santana. A mother knows these things. I'm just happy that you're finally happy, too."

As she met Rachel's eyes across the floor, Santana had to admit it – she finally was.

**x**

It was so fucking nice to finally be alone with her girlfriend. They'd had a Sunday brunch that lasted a lot longer than usually, but it had been nice, and it did seem like Rachel had had fun hanging out with the entire family. Santana had had fun too, but she'd quickly realised one thing – she didn't like sharing Rachel with _anybody_. Not even Oscar and his pouty face.

"I missed you today." Rachel mumbled, peppering Santana's neck and face with feather-like kisses as they settled together on Rachel's bed. Soft music was playing in the background from Rachel's iPod station, and the lights were dimmed, and the rest of the house was just so _quiet_.

Santana squirmed slightly and sighed happily. "I was there all day, Tiny."

Rachel brushed a piece of her hair away from her face and let her hand linger at her cheek. "I know... but it's not the same as when it's just you and me."

The Latina felt her heart flutter, and leaned up, meeting Rachel's lips in a deep kiss. She hummed against her mouth, and Rachel giggled, opening up her lips so their tongues could meet. She tilted her head slightly, in a way so that Rachel's tongue had full access to her, and she moaned contently when she felt it brush against the roof of her mouth. Pulling away again, they grinned stupidly at each other.

"That was an amazing song you wrote for me." Santana whispered, subconsciously brushing her hand from Rachel's shoulder and down her back, until she let it drop beneath her shirt and rest against the hot skin just above her jeans.

The diva licked her lips. "I meant every word of it. I'm so lucky to have you, Santana. You're so good to me. And you're so very beautiful."

Santana nuzzled her nose into the warm nook of Rachel's neck and breathed in deeply, letting the scent that was so Rachel overtake her completely. She always smelled so wonderful; like all of Santana's favourite things on one person. There was no need for words though, because Rachel knew what she thought of her, and just lying there, holding each other close was everything that Santana wished to do this evening. She had to get up fucking early the next morning to leave for Cheerios practice, but that shit didn't matter right now. It felt like it was just her and Rachel alone in the world – in their own wonderful, little bubble.

Rachel sighed happily as she threaded her fingers slowly through Santana's hair. "Baby..." she mumbled, and the Latina removed her face from her neck so they could look at each other; their lips inches apart, sharing the same air, "It feels so amazing to be close to you."

This caused another flutter to funnily sweep through Santana's chest, and she pressed her lips against the singer's once more, breathing heavily through her nose so she wouldn't have to part for air. She could hear Rachel's breathing speed up as they tumbled over and the tinier brunette landed beneath the Latina once more, in stark contrast to the white sheets on her bed. Santana could barely focus on anything other than the feel of Rachel's body beneath her, and the way that her kisses made her shiver, and her touch made her ache to be closer like she had never experienced before.

It was crazy, and Santana didn't understand why this particular girl made her feel things inside that no other person had ever done. She'd long ago decided that she might as well stop trying to fight it and just go with it instead. So she appreciated the way that this stunning person was sprawled beneath her, chest heaving up and down as their kisses grew longer, deeper, in a way that had Santana feeling that she could spend forever kissing this girl and it'd be enough.

Their lips parted briefly, and somehow Santana's shirt ended up on the floor along with her jeans, and she was mewling against Rachel, whose hands were wandering throughout golden skin, as they travelled the Latina's body, leaving a hot trail of need and lust behind them as they went. The cheerleader responded to the touch, eagerly unbuttoning the buttons of the singer's plaid shirt, pressing her lips there when a new patch of skin was revealed. Rachel was squirming beneath her, and soon her jeans were on the floor as well, and they were lying on the bed, Santana on top of Rachel, just kissing. Their eyes were closed, and their breathing was deep, while their hands travelled everywhere in reach.

_This girl is so fucking amazing... _Santana thought, and moaned heavily when one of Rachel's fingers snuck beneath her bra to brush her nipple.

Forcing their lips apart, Rachel stared deeply into Santana's eyes. A flicker of something moved in there, but it passed quickly, and the tiny girl looked certain. Pulling the Latina's face closer, Santana could feel hot breath on her ear, as she whispered, "I want to be even closer to you, Baby... I want you to make love to me."

Santana pulled her head back, and she could feel her heart thud madly against her chest as she stared at Rachel with an open mouth. The other girl was shy beneath her stare, but she seemed determined. "Are you serious?" the Latina breathed, moving in closer, brushing her nose against the other girl's.

Rachel hummed happily, as her hands wandered down the cheerleader's back and teasingly started tugging at her thong. "Yes." she breathed, letting her arms move to rest around Santana's neck. "I want this. I want it _now_."

And Satana really couldn't wrap her head around that this was finally happening; that the moment she'd been longing for for weeks was finally _here_. She'd dreamt about touching Rachel like this, kissing her, holding her; she'd wanted it so badly. Now that it was happening, she really couldn't believe her luck, and she swore the fucking God that it was going to be amazing for the both of them – it simply _had_ to be.

So she pressed their lips together once more and continued to whisper, "I swear I'll make it good for you, Baby."

Chuckling, Rachel leaned back on the bed as Santana moved her hands to her underwear, "Somehow I don't doubt that." she mumbled, just as Santana peppered her lower abdomen with plenty of kisses, while slowly pulling her boy's shorts underwear down her legs. Santana's breath hitched in her throat when she came face to face with a completely bare Rachel Berry.

"Do you wax?" she mumbled, moving to lie completely across the other girl so their lips could meet, while she teasingly let her fingers wander around Rachel's thigh and stomach; right around the area where they both wanted her to really be. "It's hot."

"I do ballet." Rachel informed her, and screwed her eyes shot for a second. "It's just easier that way..." she smiled giddily and tugged at the strap of Santana's bra. "Hey, you seem to be very overdressed, Ms. Lopez."

Santana chuckled and they both started to discard the rest of their clothes, throwing it around the room with no care as to where it landed. It was feverish to be this close to the other girl; their naked bodies were pressed against each other, and something was prickling right underneath her skin. The Latina swore she had never seen anything more stunning than a naked Rachel Berry beneath her.

Everything seemed beautiful that night, as Santana's fingers travelled into places previously unknown, and she was certain that there was nothing more amazing than seeing Rachel Berry come completely undone while she was breathing out her name.

* * *

_Yes, yes, this was how I decided to do it. I'm still not certain it was the right way to go, but this is how it is. I hope that you all liked it; I will probably do more sexy-times later, but we'll have to wait and see with that. I also hope that you liked the brunch at the Lopezes! Everything was very fluffy and sweet in these last few chapters, but I do have some drama coming up very soon! I had so much trouble with Santana in this chapter for some reason though. All the fluffiness really doesn't fit with her character, so it was a huge challenge for me to write her like this. I hope it's not too horrible. _

_Thank you all so much for the sweet reviews; you guys are so fantastic! And I'm really thrilled to see that there are more and more people writing Pezberry these days. That just warms my heart ;-) _

_The song that Rachel sang is 'So Beautiful' by Idina Menzel. I'm such a huge fan of her music, the old kind and the newer kind. It's just all so very fantastic, and I do love her voice more than anything. Oh. And it was sort of different to write the thoughts of someone receiving the song and not performing it. I thought it was much easier to write when it was Santana singing; now I suddenly had to deal with how the words made her feel, which was actually a bit of a challenge as well, so I apologise if her thoughts are a bit lame ;-) _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or 'So Beautiful' or RENT. _


	15. That's It!

**Chapter Fifteen**

**That's It! **

_Ain't nothin' gonna break my stride... Nobody's gonna slow me down... Oh no, I've got to keep on movin'..._

Turning over in the bed, Santana covered her head with the pillow and groaned to herself. No. _Fucking_. Way. It was just too early for that Goddamned song to start playing and wake her up from her nice and comfortable sleep. Shit just wasn't cool, alright? She was tugged up against the hottest body, and she could feel the safe movement of Rachel's chest as she took breaths in and out. Everything was perfect; the Latina didn't want to move. As soon as she did, their little bubble would be broken and there'd be school and idiots to deal with, and she just wasn't ready for all of that.

But at the immediate sound of the alarm, Santana realised that her girlfriend wasn't going to let them skip school to stay in bed all day. The other girl had her schedule and Santana knew that she stuck to it as if it was the most important thing in the world. That's why it even fit for Santana to stay with her, because when the brunette had to get up to do her early-morning workout routine, the cheerleader had to get up to go to Cheerios practice. Except today – Santana just fucking didn't want to.

However Rachel wasn't particularly happy when she turned over and reached for her iPod to turn the frigging song off. She mumbled something incoherent beneath her breath and fell down to the mattress once more, slapping a hand to her forehead. "I'm so tired..." she mumbled, before turning over, coming face to face with Santana, who'd been watching her every move with wonder in her eyes. Fuck that. This girl was the most amazing thing in the world to her right now. Especially after last night.

The Latina reached a finger out and gently traced the outline of the diva's lips. "We did spend the entire night working out, Tiny..." she whispered, a suggestive smirk finding its way onto her lips. She couldn't remember what time they'd decided that sleep really was necessary to be able to go through an entire day of school, but at some point they'd had to give it a rest, and had snuggled up in each other's arms. Santana suspected though, that Rachel had gotten a lot less sleep than she usually would. The cheerleader was used to running on Red Bull to keep herself going, but Rachel had always prided herself in her healthy diet and vigorous exercise routine.

A faint blush rose up the singer's cheeks, and Santana found it adorably cute that she still had the modesty to be embarrassed even after last night. Which had been – quite frankly – amazing in Santana's eyes. Sure, Rachel wasn't experienced in any way like Santana was, but she was eager and no doubt a quick learner, and the Latina was certain that she'd have the act down to perfection in no time – after all, Rachel never did anything halfway, and she was good at everything she tried, right?

"Hey," Santana chuckled, "don't look at me like that. Last night was fantastic."

Rachel's hand crept from the spot between them to rest gently on Santana's hip. "You really think so?"

Nodding her head, the Latina leaned forward to press a light kiss against the other girl's lips. "Yeah I fucking do."

That seemed to be enough to make Rachel feel a lot better, because it only took her two seconds to push the covers aside and rush across the room to her closet. Santana took a second to admire her naked backside as she chose her workout clothes, and for a second it marvelled the Latina that last night had actually happened and that they were this couple now, who were so comfortable with each other, and she couldn't help but think that it was perfect, and that she could watch Rachel get up naked every morning.

"Don't you have Cheerios?" Rachel asked then, turning around to look at her, as she stepped into a pair of tiny shorts. Santana was reluctant to answer, because her entire focus was on the two perfect breasts she now had full access to ogle. The diva placed a hand on her hip and stomped her foot, which just caused the Latina to focus even harder on her breasts. "_Santana_! Will you please have the decency to answer me?"

Snapping out of it, Santana met the other girl's eye. "I do have Cheerios, but..." she paused, knowing that this suggestion would not go over very well with her girlfriend, since she was one of those weird people who seemed to love school and learning (Santana could overlook that_ little_ flaw in her character though). "Can't we just stay here all day? I wanna kiss you." she made sure to stick her lower lip out in the end for good measure.

Unfortunately, none of that seemed to work on Rachel, even if she did get a little smile on her lips. "Baby..." she begun, crossing the floor with her t-shirt in her hand, only to sit down next to Santana on the bed, with a hand on her cheek. "You know we have to go to school. And you really need to get your butt into your uniform, because Quinn and Coach Sylvester will probably maim me if they realise that I am the reason you kept them waiting."

Santana scrunched her face up in distaste and reached towards the night stand where her iPhone was resting. It was only a bit pass five am, and she had to be at the school within thirty minutes tops. Flipping her finger, she shot Rachel a mischievous grin. She simply _had_ to make this perfect moment go down in history. "Smile for the camera, Baby!" she giggled, before snapping a picture of her very surprised girlfriend.

The diva's eyes went wide as she lounged forward to grab the phone out of Santana's hand. "Santana! Give that to me. My hair looks crazy!" she whined, desperately trying to squirm her way towards the phone, but Santana was doing an amazing job at keeping her at bay; she had one arm locked tightly around her, so her furious ministrations did nothing to move her at all. It was quite amusing to watch, actually. "_Satana_! I swear, you better delete that photo of me! I wasn't ready – I don't mind you photographing me, but I need to be adequately prepared for it; I have seventeen different poses that I've all perfected for the future paparazzi, but I can't very well- hey, what are you doing!"

Santana laughed at the stunned look on her girlfriend's face when the singer realised she was snapping more photos of her; it was simply just too precious to let this moment slip. Rachel in mid-ramble? It couldn't get much better than that. She innocently battered her eyelashes. "What Tiny? I just want to make memories of us."

Rachel huffed out a blow of air. "As if! Stop trying to convince me of your innocence, you just want pictures of me without my shirt on!" she mumbled, before she jammed a hard finger into Santana's side and stood up to pull her shirt over her head. "And now you've officially made me seven minutes late for my morning routine!" she hissed, shaking her head to herself, "You have to get up too – it takes at least ten minutes to get to school from here."

The Latina sighed heavily and bit her lip. No matter what she did, she wouldn't be able to convince the other girl to let go of her routine just for once. She'd better get used to it, because – apparently – that was the way things worked with her. "Why do you have to be right?" she whispered, humouring her girlfriend with a tiny smirk. _You're fucking crazy, woman, who says __no to a day spent in bed? Rachel Berry, apparently. _Crazy woman! Santana snorted to herself.

Rachel's eyes shone brightly when she moved to grab a hair scrunchie. "I'll see you in Glee if I don't catch you between classes!" she eagerly whispered, before placing a quick kiss to Santana's lips and dashing out the door to make her smoothie in the kitchen.

Rolling out of bed, Santana groaned again. Fucking responsibility, fucking school, fucking _world_!

**x**

It was a very interesting day to say the least. Santana didn't really know what it was, but for some reason she didn't feel like her usual self. She felt like she was sort of drifting through the hallways and swiftly floating through all of her classes, and no matter what she did, she couldn't get _Walking on Sunshine _to stop repeating itself inside of her head. And. People probably noticed because they sure as fuck treated her differently.

Maybe it was because she didn't scowl at that freshman dork who had the audacity to linger beside her locker (his was next to hers, but that _still_ didn't give him the right), or maybe it was because she hadn't yelled at Jennifer Connelly once during Cheerios practice (she just really couldn't be bothered, okay? It was kind of hard to focus when Rachel had decided to sit by the bleachers instead of practising in the choir room). Or maybe, maybe it was because she didn't kick Azimio in the crotch when he made a stupid comment about Brittany during Calculus (shit was fucking difficult, she needed to focus, alright?)? She had no fucking idea, but it was frigging _weird_!

And don't even get her started on Quinn; that blonde HBIC shot her knowing glances all day, wiggling her eyebrows and cocking her lips, as if she had any idea as to what had went down last night. Psh, she had no fucking clue. But then why did it seem like she knew exactly why Santana was walking on air? Apparently Quinn just knew her so well, and the second she met Puck in the hallway he practically screamed out 'Hell yeah! You got laid, Lopez!', and Santana had to hit him and tell him to fuck off.

Walking into the choir room that afternoon, she was happy to see that Rachel was already seated, front and centre, eagerly anticipating her arrival. The Latina had to really restrain herself to not skip across the floor – she played it cool instead and _walked_ across the room, only to bend down and plant one on her girlfriend. Rachel giggled into the kiss and wrapped her arms around her neck as they continued to kiss each other breathless. Man, she'd missed this girl and those lips and these hands all day long. It didn't even matter that Mercedes coughed uncomfortably behind them or that Sam was gaping at them with his mouth dropped open.

Santana pulled away and tightly wrapped a hand around Rachel's wrist; she had to talk to her. Despite everything that had happened last night and during the course of the weekend, she still remembered what today was. Rachel did too; even though she hadn't really talked about it more, the Latina knew that she was still worried about the outcome of her diva-off with Mercedes. She was just going to have to make sure that Rachel would be okay no matter what the verdict. So she dragged her across the room and even though the others could still see them, they couldn't hear what she had to say.

"Tiny," she whispered, her pointer-finger trailing a light path up and down the other girl's bare arm to soothe her worries, "remember what I said to you about the solo? And Mercedes?"

Rachel bit her lip and her eyes wandered off to the side; Santana guessed that she was probably watching the other girl in question. A bunch of thoughts swirled around inside her head, that was for sure, and it worried the Latina because what would she end up believing? Finally Rachel let their eyes meet, "I remember." she firmly said, "And you were right. I still get to sing the duet with Finn, and it's only fair that Mercedes gets a chance to showcase her talent. Besides... I don't think anybody can ruin anything for me right now. Not after last night. Not after you."

Santana chuckled warmly and pressed her lips to Rachel's once more. She tugged the girl closer, as closely as humanly possible, and continued to let her tongue roam around her mouth, pouring everything into the kiss; everything that happened last night, and how she was so proud of her for putting her own wishes aside to accommodate Mercedes'; just like she'd done last year at Sectionals. Santana liked Mercedes (when the other girl wasn't being a bitch to her girlfriend, 'nough said), and she thought she was very talented – and she _deserved _a chance to sing at a competition like this. No matter what Mercedes sang or how many times she sang, there was no doubt though; Rachel was the star of New Directions.

"Easy there, tiger," Puck joked as he strolled into the room, Artie trailing behind him, "you don't need to suck the air out of her." he chuckled to himself as the two girls broke apart; Rachel with flustered cheeks and a giant smile, while Santana just scowled at him. "Didn't you get enough of her last night, Lopez?"

Santana scoffed and crossed the room, dragging Rachel behind her by the hand. "Shut the fuck up, Puckerman! It's none of your business." she spat, taking a seat in the chair next to Rachel in the first row (shut up, okay? She just wanted to be close to her, even if it meant sitting in the front row).

Puck wiggled his eyebrows as he took a seat behind them, "Well it is my _business_, Santana, when you decide to take a tumble in the sheets with my fellow hot Jew!"

Rachel flushed red again and turned around to gape at the guy. "Noah!" she breathed out in complete disbelief. "Could you not put our business out there for everyone to hear?" she asked him, and there was a chuckle from Mike, but he quickly shut up when Santana glared at him, "How do you even know that we had sexual intercourse? I most certainly haven't told you, and I'm sure Santana wouldn't either."

This time it was Quinn's turn to chuckle and roll her eyes. Santana almost wanted to glare at her too, but decided against it. Why bother telling her otherwise? Quinn knew, Puck knew; they all fucking knew anyway. Even Finnocence, who was sitting in the back corner, shooting daggers in her direction. He looked completely uncomfortable, and hadn't Santana hated his guts so fucking much, she would most certainly have felt just a tiny little bit bad for him (not that she really felt bad for people, but sometimes it was nice to pretend that she did). She couldn't help but shoot a smug smile in his direction though, when no one was looking her way.

_Ha! Take that sucker. I slept with her and you didn't. Bah bah bah! _(Would it be totally immature to point her finger and laugh in slow-motion at this point?).

Raising his eyebrow at Rachel, Puck answered her, "How do I know, Rach? You must be fucking shitting me! I can seriously _smell_ it on Santana! She's been humming _Walking on Sunshine _all day long! You must have given it to her _good_."

Rachel bit her lip and Santana could tell that she was struggling trying to figure out the appropriate way to reply to that. It took a few seconds before she thought of something, which took some of the badassness away from it, but the Latina still believed it was a pretty good comeback, "Yes Noah, I can assure you that my lovemaking was perfectly adequate. As if it wouldn't be." she informed him, before turning around in her seat with dignity.

Apparently this was all it took for total and complete mayhem to break loose; Santana had no idea that they'd been walking a thin line so far with this very personal conversation, but it was evident that Finn had been extremely uncomfortable, and this last comment out of Rachel's mouth must have done the trick on him – he seriously lost it. Shooting out of his seat, he caught everyone completely off-guard as he scrambled forward and knocked several chairs (Artie just managed to roll out of the way) over.

Crashing his hand into the wall, he loudly cursed, and Tiny jumped about three feet into the air in surprise. "Fucking shit!" he yelled, hammering his fist into the wall again, repeatedly, as he shook his head to himself, "_Not fucking fair_!"

"Dude!" Sam exclaimed, quickly hopping off his chair to pull Finn away from the wall; he didn't have much luck though, because Finn was bigger and he was angry, so he managed to brush him off with a flick of his arm. Sam scrambled into the piano and managed to steady himself against it.

"Calm down, Finn." Quinn spat at him, as she moved across the floor to inspect Sam's arm. She shot her ex-boyfriend an excruciating bitch-look and turned her attention towards her current boy-toy instead.

Finn mumbled something completely incoherent and stared into the wall; his back was turned to all of them, but they could see him shaking violently. His fists were clenched by his sides, and Santana had a real fucking bad feeling about this. Brittany was looking utterly terrified in her seat, and Tina's lower lip was trembling as well. Mercedes looked ready to burst some heads if things got too far, and Lauren just looked like things weren't blowing up in the room while she was eating her Snickers bar. Rachel though – her eyes were wide with worry and Santana legit saw her hands shake as she raised them to cover her mouth. The Latina knew she shouldn't read too much into it; she just hated that Rachel still cared so much about him. Even after everything he'd done to her and put her through, she really just wanted him to be happy. Santana knew that she loved _her_ – that wasn't a question – but it was clear to everybody that Rachel still cared immensely about _him _as well. But she cared about everyone, so maybe that was why.

Mike shared a glance with Puck, before he softly spoke up from his seat next to Tina. His arm was gently wrapped around her, and he was trying to console his visibly upset girlfriend. "Man, Finn..." he trailed off, and flinched slightly when Finn whipped his head to the side and they all saw that he had angry tears streaming down his cheeks. "What's the matter?"

"It's not fucking fair!" Finn grumbled, turning around fully so they could all see him. "It's not fucking fair that _she_ gets to do everything that _I_ was supposed to!"

Santana had a feeling that he was talking about her, and everybody probably knew it too, but just to be clear, Mercedes spoke up. "Who are we talking about again, White Boy?"

Finn's eyes turned to meet Santana's, and she knew that all this pent-up aggression he had towards her was finally coming to an end – one way or another. "I'm talking about _her_ of course!" he spat, pointing a shaky finger in the direction of Santana and Rachel. "She took my girlfriend away from me! I was supposed to be Rachel's first, that was supposed to be _me_. It's not fucking fair. It's her fault we broke up, yet she still got the girl in the end!"

Santana was about to reply to that (she was going to give him a piece of her mind) when Rachel spoke up; her voice was slightly shaking, but she seemed deeply serious. "Finn, you're being completely ridiculous. Santana didn't take you away from me. You _pushed_ me away."

"I was gonna take you back, Rach!" he said, taking two long steps towards them, so he was standing in front of her tiny frame, "I was gonna let you sweat a little for cheating on me with Puck and then I was gonna take you back!"

If the news about Puck and Rachel were actually _news_, well, then the rest of the club hid that fact pretty well. Quinn had probably spilled the beans after her heart-to-heart with Santana, but the Latina didn't even have it in her to care about that right now; there was something so much more important to deal with, and that was one Finn fucking Hudson.

Rachel stood up then, clearly offended by what he was saying (which, hell yeah, she _should_ be), and pushed him lightly backwards with two hands on his chest, "You were going to _take me back_?" she hissed, her voice laced with venom as she blinked up at him through her long eyelashes, "You were going to _let me sweat_? Do you have any idea how stupid that sounds, Finn! You don't do that to someone you truly love! And you know what? I realised something the other day while I was with Kurt and Blaine. You never loved me truly, Finn-" she raised her hand to stop him from talking when he opened his giant mouth to object to that, "-no, it's _true_. You never did! You wouldn't have treated me the way you did if you truly loved me."

Santana had never been more fucking proud in her entire life, and that said a lot. Her girlfriend was seriously fucking epic! She'd missed this Rachel; the one with spunk and some sort of back-bone. Sure, Rachel had always taken the huge amount of slushies lying down, but she never used to let someone walk all over her the way she'd let Finn. Not until him. And it was about time she told him that he couldn't do it either; she'd compromised too much of herself to please him, and that shit just wasn't cool.

Finn gaped at her, "I loved you, Rachel! After everything I went through for you, I can't believe you'd say to my face that I didn't love you!"

Rolling her eyes, the Latina stood up from her seat as well, pressing herself between her girlfriend and the giant who was all up in her business; she didn't like where this was going. Even though Rachel could most certainly hold her own against Finn, it just wasn't fun for her to watch such an unfair fight. "Shut up, Finadequete!" she hissed, shoving a finger roughly into his chest. "I don't want you talking to my girl like that, got it? You ruined it yourself. You lied and you fucking hurt her over and over. And you _don't_ deserve her."

He turned his eyes away from her, glaring at something completely else for a second or two, before he evilly met her eyes once more. "And you do?" he fired right back, knowing that he'd hit a nerve. The smirk on his face told the Latina that he fucking _knew_ how it was going to affect her.

She ached an eyebrow; she was not going to let him know just how much that hit home. She knew she fucking didn't deserve how good Rachel was to her, not after everything she'd put her through with MySpace comments and slushie facials. But she thanked God everyday that the other girl was still willing to give first their friendship a chance, and then later their relationship. She had no idea where she'd be today if it wasn't for her; she'd been thisclose to losing it. "I fucking deserve her more than you do!"

"Oh you do?" Finn lamely asked back; he was still angry, but at least he wasn't shaking the way he'd been before – where he was truly close to hitting someone. "And why is that?"

Santana snorted and shook her head at him. Was he serious right now? "_Why_? I don't fucking know why! There's so many great questions in this world that we can't answer – why you're so freakishly tall for instance, or why Sam looks like Justin Bieber – but just go with it, Finnocence. Really, just _go_ with it!" she spat at him, before turning to grab Rachel by the hand to sit down with her again. She was done with this conversation – she was done with Finn Hudson.

But just as she turned on her heel, Finn grabbed her roughly by the wrist and held her there. "I'm so _sick_ of you always putting everyone _down_!" he hissed at her, and she flinched; his fucking grip on her arm hurt like hell. That shit was gonna bruise tomorrow, no doubt. But she wasn't going to show that to him. Hell no. Santana Lopez did not show weakness. "You're always calling everybody names to make sure that they don't feel better than you do! But guess what! None of us feel worse than you, at least we're decent human beings. You're just a pathetic excuse for a friend and classmate!"

Before Santana even had time to register all the words that came out of Finn's mouth (when had he _ever_ spoken that much at once?) and make a somewhat appropriate reaction (like kick his ass), Rachel had wormed her way pass them and slapped him – roughly – across the cheek. The sound of her palm hitting his face rung throughout the otherwise quiet choir room. Everyone had been watching the scene unfold with held breaths and wide eyes, and when Finn turned his face to cup his jaw, they all suddenly turned to look at Rachel, who glared at him evilly.

"Don't ever talk about her like that!" the tiny diva huffed out, her voice cold, low and controlled in a way that they didn't hear her speak very often. "Santana's a better friend – and partner – than you'll ever be. Because you mainly think of yourself. And I might be selfish too, but you bring the word to a completely different level, Finn Hudson. And I will not tolerate your childish games and feelings anymore. Grow up and get over it. The rest of us finally have."

When Finn was reluctant to reply, a tension-filled silence occupied the room, and everybody was shifting awkwardly in their seats, trying to figure out how to react to all of this. Finn was looking at Rachel with a mixture of anger, disbelief and hurt, and Santana just couldn't get over the fact that she had the most fucking badass girlfriend ever. And she just wanted to grab her and kiss her and take her up against the wall.

And that was the scene that Mr. Schuester (late as always; he fucking needed to get his watch checked) walked into. Carrying a stack of note sheets, he waltzed into the room with a bright smile, "Hey guys! Sorry I'm late, I was just- whoa, what's going on here?" he paused by the piano where Quinn and Sam were still standing, and glanced to Finn – his Golden Boy – with a worried look to his still reddening cheek. "Finn, are you alright?"

Santana rolled her eyes and fell onto the chair behind her. Figures he'd turn to Finn first; he had this strange affinity with the damn boy, and it was like, no matter what Finn did, it was always wonderful in Mr. Schuester's eyes.

Rachel took a step forward, brushing pass Finn to meet their teacher halfway, "Everything's just peachy, Mr. Schue. We're ready to rehearse for Regionals. But I think you might want to reconsider our current duet. Finn and I were talking, and he expressed some concern about he and I singing lead together since we're no longer an item."

Mr. Schuester – and every fucking else in the Goddamned room – turned to look at Rachel in surprise. She'd just fed their teacher a giant lie with so much ease, and he turned to Finn with an ached brow. "Is this true, Finn?" he wanted to know.

Slumping his shoulders, Finn shot Rachel a look before he shook his head. "No. No it's not."

Santana wanted to fucking kill the guy. Why couldn't he just go with it? It would have been fucking better for everyone involved.

Rachel leaned forward then and grabbed his arm tightly. "Finn, I think it's time you and I talked. _Alone_. We need to get a few things straight."

The dopey smile on his face did not please the Latina.

"Okay."

The diva turned to Mr. Schuester with a bright smile. "Do you think we can postpone the diva-off for our next rehearsal, Mr. Schue? We're hardly in the mood right now, and I think it'd be best if I talked to Finn while we're already at it."

Mr. Schuester nodded awkwardly, and Santana desperately wanted to tell him no, but since she had no say in that whatsoever, she had to watch as Rachel dragged Finn out of the choir room with a strained smile and a clenched jaw. She hated the feeling in the pit of her stomach as she watched them go; there was no knowing what Finn would do. She was certain he'd never do anything to deliberately hurt Rachel – but what if he tried to kiss her? Would she be tempted to kiss him back and go back to him?

_No fucking way, Lopez,_ Santana had to tell herself as she slumped back in her seat and Puck gave her a few pads on the back, _she loves you! You're solid. _

But if they were solid, why did it still hurt so much to see her go off with him like that?

**x**

Santana was impatiently tapping her foot against the floor in the Berry living room, trying to wait for Rachel to get home from ballet. It was fucking difficult, because she had no idea how her talk with Finn had gone, and she just wanted to know, she just wanted to see her and inspect her and know for sure that she was okay. And it didn't help that Hiram and Leroy were bouncing around her, asking questions about her day and Glee and what sort of take-out she wanted for tonight. She barely even listened to them, and they might have figured that something was wrong because eventually they both stopped asking. They seemed tired anyway, having just returned from Toronto.

When the front door finally smacked open, Santana was out of the sofa and in the hallway in three seconds, tops. And there stood Rachel, unbuttoning her winter coat, with a surprised grin on her face as her eyes locked with the Latina's. Thankfully she looked good, she looked _whole_. It didn't seem like she and Finn had been arguing without really coming to an agreement, and it didn't look like she'd been crying. Santana had no idea what she'd expected, but this was definitely good. And she was fucking relieved.

"Hi Baby!" Rachel grinned, flinging her coat onto the rack as she stepped out of her boots. Crossing the floor, she pulled Santana down for a warm kiss. "What are you doing here?"

Santana took a second to appreciate her body in the tight-fitted leotard, before meeting her round, chocolate-coloured eyes. "I had to see you, Tiny. After Finn fucking Hudson and all his childish drama, I had to make sure you were okay."

She smiled brightly at her. "Oh I'm okay." she replied, before rolling her pink bag across the floor and into the living room, Santana hot on her tail. "Finn and I had a talk like the two young adults I've always known we are, and he agreed to stop his childish and frankly immature behaviour." she informed the Latina, as she took a seat on the couch and patted the spot right next to her. "He was just very hurt in Glee earlier today, but he's better now."

The cheerleader did not believe one word of that, because Finn was Finn, and he'd say whatever to Rachel and she'd believe him; naïvely as always. Aching an eyebrow, Santana took a seat next to her girlfriend. "He fucking told you that? Rach.. I don't think you should believe him. I know I don't."

Rachel shook her head. "You're being ridiculous, Santana. Of course I can believe Finn. I dated him for eight months, I know when he's lying."

Santana had so many things she wanted to say to that, because if there was one thing Rachel couldn't tell, it was when other people were lying. Finn had blatantly lied to her everytime the aspect of sex was brought up between them, and she'd blindly believed his proclaimed virginity. And Finn Hudson was a fucking horrible liar, so that said something about Rachel. Santana knew that the other girl was naïve; that was one of the things she liked the most about her. It was an adorable quality, really. But it fucking wasn't good in situations like these. "Tiny – I just," she cut herself off and took a calming breath, "Finn's going to tell you everything to make sure you spend time with him."

The diva clenched her jaw tightly and reached a hand out, slowly linking her fingers with Santana's, "Baby, I know what I'm doing, okay? I mused it over on the way home, and made up an enlightening pros-and-cons-list in my mind, and it's safe to say that the good by far overweights the bad!" she nodded her head, clearly very pleased with herself and the conclusion she'd come to. "_And_ we don't have only the two of us and Finn to think about – there's the entire club, you know? And Finn said to me, that, that he was okay. That he wanted to try – for _Glee_."

_Fucking liar! _"He said that?"

Rachel nodded, her eyelashes fluttering close in the most adorable way. "He did!" she eagerly replied, "He said that he's going to be okay with us and that he wants to move on! So we're still going to perform the duet together, and everything will be perfect. We both know that our best chance at winning Regionals is if Finn and I sing the song; our voices go perfectly together. So we will be performing it, and I think this will make Mr. Schuester and everyone else really happy. He's okay with us, Santana, you have to believe that."

Santana fucking _didn't_ believe that, but she could humour Rachel for a second or two. "Okay Rach.. if you say so, I'll believe it." _No I fucking won't. _"But if he pulls another thing like this again, I'm going to kick his ass, alright?"

The diva smiled brilliantly at her again, and moved in closer, pressing their lips together. "Thank you for trusting me." she honestly whispered.

The Latina turned her head to the side, trying to hide the way her heart sped up because she wasn't trusting her (how could she, really? After everything Finn had done, how could _anyone _trust him?). "Sure." she whispered then, turning to look at her girlfriend once more. Raising a hand to scratch her cheek, Santana tried to think of something to break the awkward silence, when Rachel's eyes turned wider than ever before.

Gasping, the diva pulled Santana's hand down and brushed her fingers against the wrist. "Did he do this to you?" she shrieked, and just then, Santana looked down to see that her wrist was entirely bruised with nasty purple and green fingerprints. _Holy shit! _She hadn't even felt that. Frigging tall moron and his stupid strong hands! "Santana! Did he really grab you this hard?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Santana relished in the feel of Rachel's warm fingers as they brushed lightly across her wounded hand. "He must've Tiny. It's not from Cheerios practice, for sure. But I think you got him back good enough with that bitch-slap."

Rachel lowered her head, refusing to meet Santana's eyes as she continued to brush her fingers across her wrist. She was quiet for a few seconds, before she looked up again. "I did get him rather good, I must say... his cheek was stinging red when I left him at school earlier."

The Latina chuckled; she wondered if Rachel had had this badass girl inside of her for all this time, and if that was the case, why she was only letting this side of her show now. "Hey, it's all good, Rach. Thank you for sticking up for me. You're an amazing girlfriend."

The diva beamed at her. "You really think so? I wasn't too hard on him?"

"Hell no!" Santana gaped, grinning madly from ear to ear, "If he'd done this to you, I would've kicked his ass well into next week."

"I did slap him once before." Rachel said then, grinning as well, "Last year. He kissed me while he was still dating Quinn, and he lied to me. So I slapped him."

Santana couldn't help but chuckle warmly. This badass girl really had been inside of Rachel all this time. "I'm proud of you, Rachel."

Rachel's cheeks flustered a deep red, and Santana just found that adorable as well, so she pulled her wrist out of Rachel's grasp and wrapped both arms around the other girl. She hugged her tightly and breathed in the comfortable scent of her strawberry shampoo mixed with the gross smell of sweat from her ballet class. It was nice and soothing though – a mix that was all Rachel Berry. Rachel squeezed her tightly as well, and the Latina pressed a kiss to her temple before pulling back.

Well. That was _that_. Now she had somewhere else to be, and Rachel wasn't going to like it, so she wasn't going to _know_. "I gotta bounce though, Tiny," Santana said then, pulling herself off of the couch, even though she just wanted to snuggle up there for the rest of the evening. "I have an uhm... an important Calculus assignment that I need to work on!"

If Rachel didn't buy her lie (which would make sense, because when had Santana ever done her homework voluntarily?) she didn't show it. She simply just nodded and stood up as well. "Sounds good. I need to take a shower, too. I'll just – I'll just see you tomorrow then?"

"I'll pick you up for school." Santana replied, placing a lingering kiss to her lips. "Sound good?"

Rachel nodded eagerly, and Santana stuck her head into the kitchen to inform the Misters Berry that she unfortunately couldn't stay for dinner anyway, and they both seemed very disappointed, but understanding. She grabbed her Cheerios jacket then and hurried to her car – she had a visit to pay. To one Finn Hudson, and it wasn't going to be pleasant. But he had to fucking know that he better stay away from her girlfriend – _or else_.

She had no idea what 'or else' might constitute of, but it sounded frigging badass, and it would scare Finn accordingly.

Santana mused everything over as she drove the short drive to the Hummel/Hudson residence. She really hoped that Carole wouldn't be home to hear her probably tell her son off, and she so didn't want to deal with Beyoncé either. But it was a risk she was willing to take, because she had to get this off her chest, and Finn had to know what was hers and what was his. And he had to fucking deal with it and stop whining like a little five-year-old. Because Rachel was _her_ girlfriend now, and she did not intend to let some Frankenteen steal her away.

She parking her car behind Hummel's car and made sure to slam the door loudly before she made her way up the path to the front door. She was going to make a spectacle of herself; she was angry, and Finn was going to see just how pissed this fierce Latina could get. Knocking on the front door rapidly, she stuck her hands into her Cheerios jacket and waited for someone to answer. When the door finally snapped open, she came face to face with Kurt, whose eyes went positively wide.

"Oh. Santana?" he questioned, "Whatever are you doing here?"

_Fucking Beyoncé. _He so knew what she was doing there; he wasn't that good of an actor. Finn had probably told him everything about today, and if he hadn't, Rachel certainly must have called him – maybe even Mercedes. "I need to talk to your brother, Liza Minelli." Santana said, before pushing pass him and into the house.

Kurt closed the front door behind her and and turned to look at her, his hands folded neatly in front of him. "Santana, I strongly advise you to stay calm as you speak with Finn. He's... rather fragile right now."

Santana snorted. "I thought you were on my side, Hummel. On Rachel's side in all of this. Or was that just for show?"

"It's a conflict of interests for me." Kurt lightly informed her, before he gestured towards the stairs, where Finn's new bedroom was located after Burt finally had gotten time to put that wall up. "It's that way. And if you could refrain from yelling, that would be great. Carole is in the kitchen, cooking, and I don't want her to hear this."

The Latina ignored him and took the stairs two at a time; it wasn't hard to find Finn's room when she came to the first floor, because there was the distinct sound COD coming from the room two doors down. She strode across the hallway and made sure to smack the door open when she entered. Finn glanced up in surprise of the sudden girl in his doorway, and gaped at her with wide eyes.

Santana walked across the room and turned the TV off on the wall. "We need to talk, Finnocence." she spat at him, voice filled with anger and venom – she might as well get to the point of this conversation; she wasn't there to chit-chat, she was there on business: He had to know what he could and could not touch.

"Hey!" he objected, throwing his controller onto the bed. "I was playing that!"

She rolled her eyes. "You need to listen, Hudson, and you need to listen good." she told him, taking a step closer to him, leering down at him from above as he sat there on his bed like some idiot. "I know that you somehow managed to convince Rachel that you're all okay with us and that you want to try for Glee, but I fucking know better! Rachel's naïve, but I'm not, and I'm warning you – leave her the hell alone."

Finn smirked at her and leaned back slightly. "You can't tell me what to do. If I want to spend time with Rachel and sing our romantic duet, then I can."

He was more fucking evil than he led on; the dopey quarterback thing he had going on was _so_ only for show. He wasn't that stupid, and Santana could see it right now. "Fucking leave her alone, Finn. She's my girlfriend, and I'm not going to let you steal her away from me. I'm not stupid enough to let a good thing go!"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I regret breaking up with her. And if I wanna fight for her, I will." he replied.

Biting her lip, Santana glared at him with her hands on her hips; she was about to fucking lose it on this guy. He was simply too fucking stupid and she was tired of dealing with this shit. "She's not going to fall for your shit, she's over you."

"Then why are you here, Santana? If you're not nervous she'll come back to me, why are you marking your territory like some dog?"

"I'm not fucking marking my territory!" Santana argued right back, flipping her ponytail for good measure. "I'm telling you to leave her the hell alone, alright? She doesn't wanna deal with you, and it's hurting her."

Finn ached an eyebrow and gave her a questioning look. "Then why did she hug me earlier and tell me that's she's so glad we can still be friends?"

Santana had no idea what to say to that. She refused to believe that Rachel would hug this piece of scum, but the look on his face told her otherwise. And she _knew_ Rachel, she knew she'd do it.

"That's right," Finn mumbled back with a satisfied look on his face, "she wants to be friends. And who'll be there once you screw up? Because we all know you fucking will, you can't keep it in your pants and stick to one girl! I'm gonna be right there to comfort her and then I'll swoop right in and make her mine again."

"Shut. The. _Fuck_. Up!" Santana argued, very aware that her voice was raising with each word she exchanged with this guy, but she couldn't bring herself to care if Hummel or Carole heard them. The important thing was that Finn got the message into this small, idiotic brain.

He smirked at her again. "Rachel's not even gay, and you know it. I know it – we all know it. So eventually she'll come back to me. I'll be here waiting, fighting for her, and charming her along the way."

Santana shook her head at him; no matter what she said, she knew he'd drawn the short end of the stick. He might've dated Rachel for eight months, but Rachel had said it herself; she was over him. And she was done with him. Santana knew they were good. Last night had been amazing, and she'd never shared something so deep with anyone. Sex wasn't just sex when you really cared about a person like she cared about Rachel. And she was fucking certain that she wasn't the only one who'd felt like that – Rachel had felt it, too. So he could bring it all he wanted, she was still going to have Rachel in the end, because no matter what happened, she didn't plan on screwing up like Finn said she would. Rachel was too important.

"Just bring it, Hudson. She'll never go back to you. She's over you." the Latina hissed, dropping her hands to hang limply by her sides.

"She's not gay." Finn just repeated.

Santana had to bite her lip to hide her smile; he so didn't know about Rachel's past and who she'd been with. "Rachel might not be gay. But she chose me." she informed him, and couldn't quite hide the smirk now. _Hell yeah_! The roles were reversed at this point; she was _so_ winning this argument.

Finn said, "For now. I'm the one who's gonna get her."

Shaking her head, Santana was confident when she replied, "No. Because I'm the one she wants."

"Looks like the battle lines are drawn." Finn confidently fired right back at her.

"Yeah," Santana said, nodding her head, "looks like they are."

And with those words she turned to make her way out of the room. It didn't matter what Finn was going to do, or how he was going to be Rachel's friend – she was the one Rachel was with, the one she'd _be_ with for as long as possible. Finn could try all he wanted, but he was going to come out empty-handed on the other side. And Santana was confident of this. One wrong move on his part though, one attempt of a kiss or touch, she was going to whip his ass. And she was fairly certain that Puck would be helping her, as well. Finn might be his best friend, but Puck cared more about Rachel than he cared about anyone – and he wanted _her_ to be with Rachel, not Finn.

He could try all he wanted, but Rachel Berry was not going to be available to his giant hands _any_ time soon.

* * *

_Hi! Thank you so much for tuning back in for more – I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I don't have much to say except I really don't like Finn. I was tempted to make him a big idiot, but I also still wanted to make him stay in character, and truth is, he's not idiotic enough to really hurt anyone. He might lose his temper occasionally, and I believe he'd fight for Rachel if it's her he really wanted. Plus, he's really not as dumb as he likes everyone to believe – after he tricked Rachel into coming back to Glee, I think it's clear to everybody that he has another side to him. _

_Anyways! Thank you so much for your kind reviews. I hope to update within a week again, but truth be told – next week is going to be crazy busy for me, so I might not. We have to write a project for school with really long hours and next weekend I'll be going to visit my grandparents with my sister, so I probably won't have time to write then. But I do hope to stick to my at-least-once-a-week schedule, but don't freak out if it takes a while longer. _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee, RENT, or any of the songs mentioned in this chapter. _


	16. Baby, What's My Sin?

_**Warning: **I am putting in a warning at this point, just to make sure that everybody knows that there's **M**-rated content within the first scene of this chapter – and some at the end as well. _

**Chapter Sixteen **

**Baby, What's My Sin? **

"Hey Tiny! Tiny, look over here for a sec!"

"No Santana, I know what you're doing, and I am _not_ going to participate!"

"Just turn your head, won't you? I need me some Rachel Berry smiles."

"Please, just cut it off, Baby, I'm trying to read."

"Or better yet, I need me some Rachel Berry lovin'."

"_Santana_!"

"Fuck yeah, I got you to look!"

Scoffing, Rachel flashed Santana another irritated look, before she turned her attention back to the book she was reading, lying up against the headboard of her bed with her ankles crossed. Even though she seemed annoyed with her girlfriend at the moment, the little sneaky smile on her face told Santana that they were okay, and that she wasn't really all that mad. She also knew that maybe she should stop trying to get Rachel to look, but she simply couldn't help herself; she'd been sitting across the room, trying to work on her Calculus assignment by Rachel's desk, but somehow her entire attention had ended up on the other girl instead, watching her as she flipped the pages and bit her lip in wonderment as she read.

There was just something so incredibly sexy about Rachel Berry post-sex; with tousled hair and only wearing a big t-shirt as she tried to focus on the book she had to read for English Lit.

Sooo... Since the other girl had been so irresistible to look at, Santana had sort of, kind of, maybe, possibly gathered up her phone and started to snap a bunch of pictures of her. Hello? Could anyone blame her, really? She needed pictures in case she didn't see Rachel for a day or two – how else was she going to, like, function and shit? And fuck that noise. She so wasn't whipped (she so totally was). But anyway, Rachel had ignored her, and then the Latina had switched her phone over, so she was recording instead, and suddenly she was getting all these little movements and things that Rachel did; catching sweet moments in a way a picture never could.

Plus, she just looked fucking hot there without her underwear on.

Rachel flipped a page in her book and said, "I am still refusing to humour you and your childish games. What is the point of this little film you're making? I'm merely sitting here, _trying_ – trying being the keyword, Baby – to do my homework."

Santana snorted as she zoomed in a little on Rachel's mouth as she spoke (she could not get enough of those lips. Seriously... they were fucking addictive). "Don't do your homework then," she suggested, taking a few steps closer, so she was standing by the foot of the bed, looking down at the smaller girl, "do me!"

Raising her eyebrow, Rachel lowered her book onto the mattress next to her and neatly folded her hands in her lap. "Oh really now? You want me to _do you_?" she questioned, her voice slightly teasing as her tongue came out to wet her lower lip, and Santana had to swallow a groan. "Were you not sufficiently done just an hour ago?"

The Latina shook her head eagerly; she'd actually just managed to get herself into a pair of Rachel's sweatpants and her sports bra, but she was always ready for some more Rachel Berry lovin'. It didn't matter that they'd been doing nothing but that since they returned home from school, and that the one reason they stopped was because Hiram and Leroy would be coming home from work soon with take-out and a dash of Berry humour. "I could most definitely use a little more doing." she replied in a throaty whisper; just the mere thought of taking Rachel again was doing wonderful things to her body.

The diva breathed out a long breath, before she stuck her tongue out at the Latina, who was still recording, and picked up her book instead to finish reading. Santana couldn't help the tiny chuckle that escaped her lips then; it was so Rachel, and so adorably cute that she couldn't even get mad at her. Man, she so had it bad for this girl. Slipping around the bed, she moved in closer and got a clear shot of Rachel's face.

"Hey Baby.." she whispered, and Rachel looked up briefly with a sheepish grin, before returning her attention to the task at hand, "I am in love with you." she continued to whisper, loving the way that Rachel's grin turned a little wider by the sweet words, and completely ignoring the way she was turning into a big pile of mush herself. "I... am in love... with _you_."

Meeting her eyes above the camera, Rachel folded her book close and grinned. "And I am in love with you."

Santana felt the now familiar rush of butterflies as they battered their wings inside of her stomach, and fell onto the bed next to Rachel, turning her phone over to get a shot of both of their faces. "You're perfect for me, you know that, right?" she heard herself whisper as she stared at the little diva. She couldn't explain where all of this was coming from, but sometimes when she watched Rachel the way she'd been doing for the past hour or so, she simply got so overwhelmed with feelings for this other person, that she had no choice but to let them out – despite how stupid and vulnerable they made her sound.

Rachel's eyes met hers, and as brown met brown, Santana's breath left her lungs, because she was seriously taken aback by the power of the emotions that were held inside those deep pools of delicious chocolate. Every possible feeling was floating around in there, and it stunned her for a second, because she could read Rachel so well, and it scared her, because where wouldn't it end? She could see herself really _loving_ this girl, and she'd never loved another person like that before. She was frightened for what this was going to do to her, but she was going to hold on tight and – hopefully – enjoy the ride.

The singer reached out then, gently slipping the phone out of Santana's hand, only to turn it off and dispose of it on the bedside table. Under normal circumstances Santana might have told her off for taking her phone away, but the look on Rachel's face told her that something better would be happening in a second or two, so she really shouldn't complain. Rolling over on top of her, Rachel trapped the Latina between her body and the mattress, and Santana loved the way that their bodies seemed to perfectly mould together like that. They stared at each other for a second or two, their noses barely touching, their breaths mixing, and their hearts speeding up in anticipation of what was going to come.

And then – without warning at all – Rachel attacked the Latina's mouth with her own, and Santana was completely astonished, as the diva pried her mouth open and continued to hungrily devour her from the inside out. She scraped her tongue against every possible surface inside the Latina's mouth, and the taller girl moaned in pleasure, emitting sounds only Puck had previously been able to get out of her solely by kissing. There was nothing like lady kisses though; even in the midst of passion and lust like this, lady kisses were always better. They tasted sweeter, and the way that Rachel somehow managed to nibble her lip with her teeth sent a jolt of pleasure all the way down Santana's body and into her core. She was growing seriously fucking wet pretty damn quickly.

She could feel Rachel's right hand travel down her stomach, teasingly brushing past her breast and her belly button, before tugging firmly, harshly, on her sweatpants. Pulling them down to her thighs, Santana felt the air in the room brush against her naked centre, and it only confirmed what she already knew – she was _so_ ready for another round of Rachel Berry lovin'.

Giggling against her mouth, Rachel pulled back, "You're so wet, Baby." she mumbled, pressing a trail of hot, feverish kisses to the Latina's throat, as she nibbled, sucked and licked her way downwards, while moving a finger across the hardened bud between Santana's legs. The Latina drew in a sharp breath when she teasingly twisted it between her thumb and pointer finger.

"Damn Rach... that feels so good." she heard herself mumble, getting completely lost in the way that Rachel's fingers seemed to work their magic while her kisses made sure she stayed firmly on the ground to participate in them. She flickered her tongue against the diva's and moaned once more.

Rachel backed away then, for a few seconds, only to roughly pull the Latina's sweatpants off and away from her legs; she threw them somewhere in the room, where they probably joined the discarded Cheerios uniform that Santana had stripped out of hours before when she was eager to get inside of the other girl. When the diva met Santana's eyes again, a sneaky smile covered her face, as she moved her hand over, roughly cupping the taller girl.

"I want to try something," she hoarsely whispered, her breath teasing Santana's lips, as her eyelids fluttered close at the sensation between her thighs. "but I'm not sure how to do it correctly, so if I'm really bad, then you're going to have to tell me."

Santana's eyes flickered open again, and she stared in wonder at the girl who was hovering above her. What the actual fuck? What was she talking about? Did she-? _Ooh. That felt nice. _"Mhm."

Rachel chuckled that sexy growl of hers and rubbed her hips against Santana's thigh once or twice. "Baby, listen to me..." she mumbled, knowing full well that Santana was hardly able to really pay attention in this state; the Latina couldn't be bothered to tell her off though, not when wonderful things were going to occur in a minute or two. "I want to try this, and I promise you that I'm going to get better with time. It just takes lots and lots and _lots_ of practice. I'm willing to work on that with you. Just tell me if I'm too horrible, okay?"

"God, what the fuck, Rachel!" Santana groaned, slapping her hand across her forehead; she felt hot all over and she really couldn't stand the constant throbbing between her legs. She was going to have to get that relieved soon, or she was sure she'd lose her mind or something equally as ridiculous. "Would you just do it, please!" she mumbled. She had no fucking clue what the other girl was going on about, because it was seriously hard to form any coherent thoughts inside that mushy brain of hers right now.

Chuckling once more, the diva slipped off the bed, and for a second Santana was about to complain and order her back there to finish what she started, but as Rachel kneeled beside the bed and hooked a hand behind each of her knees, Santana suddenly realised what it was that the other girl was going to try for the _very first time_. Holding back her breath, she felt Rachel position both of her legs above her shoulders and pull her even closer. The Latina could feel anticipation prickling all over her skin, and God, she was so sure that Rachel was going to fucking excel at this, because she was seriously fucking epic at everything she did.

_She's going to- she's going to- oh fuck! Shit. She's going down on me! _

Santana emitted the loudest moan this day when she felt Rachel's tongue lick a long thick line up her slit. Clenching her thighs harshly around the girl's head, she fisted her right hand around the sheets of Rachel's usually so perfectly made bed, and placed the other arm above her eyes. She could feel herself clench tightly already, and she usually wasn't so quick to let go when someone was eating her out, but it must be the idea that it was _Rachel_ who was doing it that made her want to lose it completely.

_Rachel's licking my pussy. Holy fucking shit, she's going to town like it's some of that vegan ice cream she likes to eat so fucking much! _

"Fuck."

She felt Rachel's tongue, hesitantly, as it continued to lap at her, and the familiar warm feeling in the pit of her stomach was quickly getting stronger and stronger. It wasn't going to take much, that was for sure. And when the diva hesitantly sucked her clit into her mouth, Santana's hips bucked upwards at their own accord and all sensible thoughts left the Latina's head and she could only feel all the things that Rachel was doing to her body.

She was fucking perfect down there, with that head of brown hair between _her_ thighs, her warm hands settled comfortably on her legs as she sucked and nibbled, and when she finally stuck her tongue deeply into Santana, the Latina was done for; she thrust her hips upwards repeatedly to meet the other girl halfway there, and Rachel flickered her tongue inside of her over and over, and before Santana knew what had happened, the diva thumbed her clit once, twice, and she flew over the edge with an embarrassing loud screech, her body arched off the bed and her thighs wrapped tightly around Rachel's head.

The other girl let her ride out her orgasm, and when Santana finally relaxed enough to release her hold of the sheets and the other girl, she fell onto the mattress, her body a quivering mess as she struggled to catch her breath. Her chest rose and fell quickly and her body was still throbbing in the aftermath. She felt Rachel fall down next to her, slapping one arm across her stomach to snuggle into her side.

"That was fucking well done, Tiny." Santana managed to breathe out, when she was finally able to think clearly enough to even form a sentence. _Seriously. That was amazingly well done for your first time. We're gonna have the best fucking sex-life of anyone at McKinley. _

Rachel chuckled into her side and mumbled, "I'm glad you liked it! I quite enjoyed it too, to be honest. It felt really nice to do that to you, I think I'm going to enjoy practising as much as possible."

Santana turned her head to the side and placed a gentle kiss on the side of her head, "I have no objections to that whatsoever. But I will need to return the favour at some point."

"Don't worry. You will."

A comfortable silence erupted between the two of them then, as they lay there on Rachel's bed, tugged up against each other, with nothing but their breathing to disturb them. It was only when a sudden knock on the door broke the silence, that Rachel sat up straight and Santana scrambled to find her sweatpants.

"Uhm girls?" they heard Hiram mumble through the closed wooden door, "We just wanted to let you know that uhm – that we're home already, and that there's dinner downstairs, so..." he trailed off, and Santana turned to meet Rachel's mortified eyes, "So if you just want to freshen up, you can meet us in the kitchen in a few."

No one answered; Santana didn't know what to say (her in-laws had fucking just heard her orgasm and there was no getting out of that), and Rachel was just standing there, truly rendered speechless for one of the first times in her life.

Hiram was trying to hide his chuckle when he tried once more, "Girls?"

"Coming." Santana hissed, and only when the words left her mouth – and Hiram turned down the hallway, laughing – did she realise the sexual double-meaning, and wanted to slap herself. Pulling on the discarded sweatpants in a rush, she turned to look at the small brunette, who still hadn't managed to move away from the bed. "Tiny..." she whispered, reaching down to grab Rachel's underwear before moving over to place a gentle hand on her thigh, "You need to get dressed."

Rachel bit her lip and absent-mindedly accepted the underwear that Santana held out for her, before awkwardly slipping into them. "My fathers just heard us have sex." she whispered; there was no emotion whatsoever in her voice, and the Latina was worried for a second, that something might be really wrong with her. Could one get a heart attack for being caught having sex?

She sat down and comfortingly wrapped an arm around her girlfriend. "Listen Rach... don't feel bad, alright? They did tell us that it was okay for us to have sex when they weren't home. It's not our fault they came home _during_, you know?" she couldn't help but chuckle darkly at the thought. Sure, she was hella embarrassed that Hiram and Leroy had just heard her screech out like that, but she wasn't going to hide in Rachel's room because of it. She was just going to accept the fact that they might make fun of her, and then go downstairs and eat her dinner. "Now," she continued, "comb out your sex-hair and let's get going."

Rolling her eyes, Rachel seemed to completely pull back into her usual self when she quickly threw on a pair of shorts and combed her fingers through her messy hair, before reaching for a scrunchie on her desk. She turned to look at Santana with an expectant smile, and the Latina wrapped her arm around the smaller girl as they made their way down the hallway. Rachel pulled her hair into a makeshift bun on top of her head, and the Latina thought she looked adorable.

Descenting the stairs, the pair made their way into the kitchen, only to find Leroy and Hiram sitting in their usual seats, looking up at both girls with giant grins on their faces. Several boxes of Thai take-out were scattered on the table, and Santana's stomached growled when she caught a whiff of the delicious smell. She was way more hungry than she'd thought. Heh. Must be all that afternoon workout.

"Hi Dad." Rachel mumbled, hopping onto her chair, "Daddy."

Leroy chuckled and arched an eyebrow in Santana's direction; the Latina just shrugged and reached for some food. "Hi sweetheart. Did you uhm, did you have a good day?" he said, trying desperately to hold onto the laughter bubbling in his stomach. Santana could tell that he was trying very hard not to say anything because they both knew that Rachel would throw a fit of some sort and everything would end up badly, and it was better to just ignore it and not tease her. Didn't mean he didn't want to, Santana could totally tell.

But apparently Rachel had decided to be cool about it like Santana had hoped she would be, because when she looked up, there was a sheepish grin on her face. "I'd kiss your cheeks like usually, but... considering where my lips _just were_ – I think you'll rather I didn't."

And this time it was Santana's turn to grow embarrassingly red in the cheeks, while Leroy broke into a giant belly-laugh and Hiram squirmed awkwardly in his seat. Rachel was chuckling too, as she padded Santana on the arm and reached for some food as well.

**x**

Okay, so she knew that technically – _technically_ – murder was wrong, but that still didn't stop her from wishing that she could strangle Finn Hudson and in that way make sure that he _never_ spoke another word to her girlfriend – ever – again. She was getting really fucking tired of him and his stupid games really fucking fast.

He'd been making all these small passes on Rachel all day long. To most people, it would probably seem like nothing; just a friend helping out another friend. But to Santana – fuck, to _Santana_ – it was so much more. Because she knew that it wasn't innocent, and she knew the reasons behind his actions. And it was fucking annoying to see him gently place a hand on the small of her back when they rehearsed their duet for Regionals, and see him shoot her evil smirks from across the room because Rachel was being completely oblivious to it all.

And the worst part? She couldn't fucking tell her girlfriend what was happening, because she refused to not see the best in people. Fucking shit, that's what it was.

As Finn poked Rachel playfully in the side with that dopey look on his face and Rachel proceeded to giggle loudly, Quinn turned to Santana with a raised eyebrow and questions floating in her brown eyes. "_Why_ are you letting him move in on your girlfriend, S?"

Glaring at the giant across the room, Santana answered her best friend, "I'm not worried about Finnocence, because Tiny and I are solid. But I'm fucking annoyed at him!" she growled and moved her eyes away from the pair, because she simply couldn't stand one more moment of Finn being all over the diva. "He knows she's mine, and he told me straight to my face that he still wants her and that he won't give up."

Sam (always being wherever Quinn was) glanced at Finn in surprise. "He said that?"

"Hell yeah!"

"That's so messed up, dude!" Sam mumbled, shaking his head to himself, as his hand settled comfortably inside of Quinn's, "It's like, now Rachel's finally happy, and he wants to go and ruin it... He's a moron for doing that. Guy's my friend, but he's a frigging moron."

Quinn nodded in agreement, "And you're happier too, S. You're even smiling sometimes. You really deserve this."

Narrowing her eyes in on the blonde head-cheerleader, Santana frowned, "I'm not fucking smiling, Q! I don't smile, alright? I simply just _don't_."

Laughing loudly, Quinn's face was overwritten with joy, "Sure you don't."

The Latina growled again and crossed her arms firmly across her chest, before turning to look at the scene unfolding in front of her. Rachel and Finn were still singing their stupid love song, and Mr. Schuester was all up in their business, thrilled about how everything was working out and all of the emotion that they were pouring into the song. Santana just wanted to barf, and she was evidently happy when their teacher announced that it was time to settle the diva-off that he'd started last week.

As Finn sat down and Mercedes stood up to join Rachel and Mr. Schuester, the diva's eyes met Santana's, and the Latina gave her girlfriend an encouraging smile, urging her to do what they'd talked about; to be the bigger person and create a nicer environment for everyone, by simply just letting it slide. Mercedes looked ready to fight with everything she had, and Rachel got a tiny smile on her face and gave Santana a short nod.

"Before we begin, I'd like to say something, Mr. Schue." she brightly announced, before stepping forward and clasping her hands together in front of her. The usual suspects groaned, and Santana shot a glare in Tina's direction. "I do realise that last week it seemed like I really wanted to sing the duet at Regionals. However, I have come to the conclusion that I believe it would be better for our team spirit and New Directions if Mercedes was to sing the song at our competition." she turned to Mercedes then, and gave a short nod. "You're an amazing singer, and you deserve to have this one. I will be cheering you on loudly from the sidelines and I hope you make us all proud, thus winning us the trophy and our tickets to Nationals in New York!"

Mercedes just gaped at the other girl; completely surprised and in disbelief. Quinn turned to shoot Santana a questioning look, probably wondering what had happened since Rachel willingly gave up a solo, and all Santana could do was smirk satisfyingly in return, because fuck yeah, it was her doing, and she was frigging proud of it.

"Are you for real?" Mercedes gaped then.

Rachel nodded. "I most certainly am. I cannot wait to hear you sing, Mercedes."

Still completely astonished, Mercedes made her way back to her seat, and Rachel followed suit. Mr. Schuester took the centre of the room again, clapping his hands together and smiling warmly at all of them. "Alright guys! This actually concludes our set-list for Regionals. Now we just need to practise and practise and then practise some more."

"Please," Puck replied, lazing back in his seat with an arm wrapped around Lauren's chair, "I know Kurt's on the other team, but we've got this one in the bag, Mr. Schue."

Tina nodded in agreement, "Totally!"

Turning around, Rachel gaped at them all with an open mouth and huge eyes. "Regionals is in a _month_, guys! We can't get complacent. We _have _to beat Vocal Adrenaline. We _have_ to get to New York."

Santana thought that maybe Rachel sounded a little desperate and too worried, but she still had to agree with her girlfriend; they couldn't continue with their laid-back attitude. They simply had to win this thing, and be sure that the judges were certain that they were the best. Vocal Adrenaline had Sunshine Corazon, and the Warblers had Blaine and Kurt. It didn't look too good for them already. They couldn't ignore those facts. Shit, she was damn certain that they were gonna win, but she didn't want _risk_ it by not practising.

Finn stood up from his seat and turned to face them all with a determined look on his face. "Rachel's right! We have to work harder, we have to beat them!"

Santana rolled her eyes. He was clearly very desperate if he was agreeing with Rachel in front of everybody.

"Thank you, Finn." Rachel said and offered him a bright smile.

Just then the bell rang, signalling the end of class, and Mr. Schuester dismissed them all. Santana grabbed her bag with a huff and strove across the room, placing a firm finger in Finn's chest. "You need to back off, Hudson." she lowly hissed, glaring at him. She was really trying very hard not to lose her shit, but he was making that extremely difficult. "No one appreciates your attitude. You're making a fool of yourself, trying to get with a girl who's clearly taken and _in love_ with someone else."

Finn smirked down at her. "Rachel falls in and out of love all the time. It's only a matter of time before she falls out of love with you as well."

Santana snorted. He was being fucking ridiculous if he thought that things were that easy. Obviously they weren't, because Rachel couldn't just _fall out of love_ with her. She simply wouldn't let that happen. They were just getting started. "Just stop it, alright? Your act is getting old pretty fucking quickly." she scowled, before turning back around to meet Rachel by the door.

"What was that about?" the diva questioned as they made their way down the hallway, their shoulders brushing as they walked. Santana wanted nothing but to wrap her arm around the other girl's shoulder, or possibly hold her hand tightly. She knew she couldn't though, because what wouldn't everybody think? Nobody could be out at McKinley and still stroll the halls like she did.

She offered the other girl a strained smile. "Just having a nice conversation with Finnocence... nothing you need to worry about."

Rachel didn't look all that comforted by that answer, but she let it slide as they stopped by her locker. Opening it, she said, "Will you come over tonight? We can watch _The L Word_ and eat those cookies I baked yesterday."

Santana pretended to contemplate the offer for a second or two, placing a finger to her chin as she made a 'hm'-sound. "Will there be kissing involved?" she then questioned, with a certain glint in her eye.

Rachel bit her lip. "That might be possible."

"I'm fucking _there_!" Santana replied, before placing a chaste kiss on the diva's cheek and turning down the hallway to meet Brittany and Quinn for Cheerios practice. They were going to have to practise like mad this afternoon; after all, New Directions wasn't the only team that was heading to Regionals soon.

**x**

Santana couldn't help it.

There was just no way that she could stop herself from shooting small glances at Rachel as the singer watched the story unfold itself on her TV screen. She was watching with wide eyes and a happy smile on her lips, while clutching on tightly to the phone in her hand. The Latina had never seen anyone be this engrossed in an episode of _The L Word_. She was beginning to think it might have something to do with a certain _other_ Latina, but she was almost afraid to know the answer. Instead she just watched her girlfriend a little bit more.

As her phone vibrated, the diva turned it over, and rolling her eyes, she quickly typed out a reply with a huff leaving her lips, before returning her eyes to the TV.

The cheerleader bit her lip. "Is it still Puck?"

Rachel hummed in response. "He's wanting to know whether or not he might be able to participate in sexual intercourse with you and I sometime in the future. I told him to please stop asking. His comments are getting rather crass at times."

Santana couldn't help but laugh; she'd gotten plenty of those texts from him as well, but since she always told him to fuck off, he probably thought he'd have better luck with his best friend and fellow hot Jew. "He's an ass-clown."

"He really is incorrigible." Rachel replied, and decided to ignore her phone when it vibrated again. Instead, her mouth dropped open as Carmen performed a particularly naughty dance for Shane on screen. "Sarah Shahi really is an incredibly gorgeous woman with a banging body." Rachel whispered, completely enthralled.

_Couldn't she just say 'Sarah Shahi is fucking hot' like any other normal person? _

Santana smirked and placed a warm hand on Rachel's bare thigh. She'd never really seen the apparent sex appeal of Sarah Shahi though... However Brittany had also always been rather fond of her, though she seemed to like Mia Kirshner a lot more. Sighing, the Latina leaned her head back against the headboard. "You really think so? I've always liked Kate Moennig more."

She was met with a pair of very wide Rachel Berry eyes as the diva gasped. "No! Really Santana? How can you not appreciate her obviously beautiful body?"

Shrugging, Santana chuckled inwardly. "I guess I just don't see it."

"Well," Rachel informed her then, with that sexy smirk on her lips, "maybe I just have a thing for Latinas then."

Santana couldn't help the huge grin that broke out on her face at those words, and she slowly reached over, teasingly brushing her hand across Rachel's stomach, before grabbing the remote and pausing the DVD. With a flick of her arm, she had Rachel pinned beneath her, the little diva giggling madly, and with shiny eyes. Santana couldn't help but think it; this was the most beautiful view in the world.

"Latinas?" she growled, teasingly slipping her hand down Rachel's body and beneath her skirt to fondle her through her panties. "As in plural?"

Rachel pretended to think about it for a second or two, as a contend look came across her beautiful face. She sighed heavily and smiled up at the cheerleader, "Well, I suppose it's only really _one_ Latina..." she whispered then, and her lips looked so irresistible, Santana simply had to kiss them.

So that was what she did, of course. Hello, she was _dating_ the girl – it was allowed. She covered the other girl's mouth with hers and all but completely devoured her. It was rough and quick, and her fingers pulled at her underwear in a way that made Rachel's hips arch upwards, wanting more.

Breathing heavily, Rachel tore her lips away from Santana's, and while the Latina continued to suck eagerly on her neck – she was focusing all her attention on making a well strategically placed hickey for Finn to notice the next day – she continued to blurt out, "My fathers are right downstairs, Baby..."

It didn't really seem like she minded _that_ much, so Santana trailed a bunch of kisses back to her lips. "We'll have to be really quiet. I _know _that's a challenge for you, but you're going to have to try..." she smirked, before pressing their lips together again, for another beautifully danced out duel between their tongues.

Rachel mewled and seemed to surrender herself completely. She let the Latina completely grope her body and hardly did anything in return, because Santana was all over her. She really didn't mind though, she felt the need to mark the tiny diva as hers, and even though nobody could see them, she really just wanted to make sure that Rachel realised that _no one _else could make her feel like this. This was something special, just between the two of them, something very unique. Santana had never shared something like this with anybody before, and she hoped to God that Rachel could feel it, too.

Brushing her fingers across the outside of Rachel's panties, the Latina didn't hesitate, before pulling them inside to gently brush against the other girl's clit. However, Rachel's firm hand on her wrist stopped her, and she looked up to meet the other girl's eyes, black with desire and lust. Blowing out a breath of air, she hissed, "_What_?"

"Lèches ma clito?"

For a second there, Santana wasn't really sure what happened, except for the fact that she grew considerably wetter because the sound of Rachel speaking French in that sultry voice... it had fucking done something to her since the first time she heard it. She wasn't even sure what the words meant, but damn, they were hot! And Rachel was staring down at her with this clouded look in her eyes and a lopsided grin, and fuckety fucking fuck. She was just so frigging _sexy_! Growling from the back of her throat, Santana forced herself to think more clearly...

_Lèches ma clito, lèches ma clito... what the fuck does that mean? Huh? Lèches? Fuck. _She bit her lip and continued to stare at her girlfriend who was smirking very uncharacteristically down at her. _Well... what about 'clito'? That sounds an awful lot like... holy shit! Does she want me to-? _

Breaking herself out of her trail of thoughts, she shot her girlfriend a huge grin, anticipation fluttering like mad inside her stomach. "Does that mean what I think it means?" she huskily whispered. She hadn't gotten to perform this particular task on her girlfriend yet, because Rachel had been oddly shy about it, but after Rachel went down on her, she'd been eager to return the favour.

Rachel bit her lip, and for a brief second, an insecure look swiped across her face. "Would you?" she whispered then.

"Hell yeah!" Santana hissed out. There was nothing she wanted more than to fucking do that. Grinning madly at Rachel, she roughly pulled her underwear off and pulled her legs apart to make more room. Rachel seemed slightly hesitant about it, but Santana was adamant about making this incredible for the other girl. With those thoughts, she proceeded to bury her head beneath the Catholic school girl skirt that Rachel had been spotting all day, and as she eagerly placed the first lick, she heard the diva moan loudly from her spot on the bed.

Blindly reaching her hand out, Santana fumbled for a pillow and grinned to herself as she threw it onto Rachel's head.

So much for keeping quiet.

* * *

_Thank God I was able to update this week! I was itching to write more, and I was so worried that school would be too demanding, but turns out, our teachers totally made this project sound a lot worse than it really was. So I was home pretty early every day and still managed to write this and somehow plot down the storyline for the rest of this fic – and hold on tight, because there's still a while to go! _

_I hope that everyone was comfortable with the amount of smut that I put in this chapter. Now, it's been a while since I wrote anything like that, so I hope it's not too horrible. And it's not like I'm going to be writing smut for every chapter from now on – that's in no way the case, I just thought I'd accommodate a few wishes and make a sort of filler chapter, before getting back to the drama that I have planned for the second half of this story! But, I will probably throw in another **M**-rated scene once in a while if it fits the story. _

_Oh. And I've never taken French, so if it makes no sense whatsoever, please correct me and tell me what it should say instead ;-) I used an online translator, but we all know how reliable they are! As in... they're really not. So yeah. I deeply apologise to the French speaking readers in case it's nowhere near what it's supposed to be. _

_Anyway. Now – how did everyone like the newest episode? I need to get my frustrations out, because I'm so torn about it! Naya Rivera completely blew me away with everything from 'Landslide' to her fabulous acting, but man, I'm getting frustrated with how they're writing Rachel. How can they STILL have her pining after Finn? It seriously hurts my heart. And don't even get me started on Quinn, because she's seriously annoying the fuck out of me and making it extremely difficult to enjoy ANYTHING Faberry related. What a shame. I want pregnant Quinn back. And someone REALLY needs to tell her off soon like they did with Santana. _

_And now that I've rambled (sorry about that), I want to thank you so much for your wonderful reviews – I can't believe we've passed 300! It just makes me so happy, you have no idea. Receiving reviews is like the best part of my day. _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee, RENT or any other songs or films mentioned. _


	17. The Straw That Breaks My Back

**Chapter Seventeen **

**The Straw That Breaks My Back**

Sue Sylvester was _still_ a fucking slave-driver.

The good thing was that Santana didn't notice it as much these days, because she was finally friends with Quinn and Brittany again which made practice, like, a helluva lot more enjoyable, and during most morning practices Rachel would be sitting on the bleachers watching her with a huge smile on her face, either typing away on her sparkly laptop in the morning sun, or punching in messages on her phone.

The Latina couldn't really help it, but it usually made her day a lot better before it really begun. Quinn would still be ordering them around and Coach Sylvester would still yell at them through her bullhorn and demand crazy things. Even Jennifer Connelly was still the frigid bitch she used to be, but somehow it didn't touch Santana in the same way anymore. Mostly because she tried her best to tune it out – it was Rachel's advice; the little diva always told Santana to try to ignore it – and just work her ass off to somehow end up at a higher place in the pyramid. Being on the bottom seriously sucked ass.

"You think this is hard?" Sue hollered at them from her spot, perched on top of her platform, "I'm living without a bladder – THAT'S HARD!"

Brittany groaned and fell into step next to Santana and Quinn as they ran lap after lap around the field. "How many more of these do we have to do?" she whined, wiping a good amount of sweat away from her forehead with the back of her hand. "It's like, totally hard, and even though it's nice that the sun if finally out, I'm like, really annoyed at it right now, because it's making it way harder for me to run, because I get so hot."

Santana steadied her breathing as they sped up their pace a little bit, "You're always hot, Britt." she fired right back and managed to smile warmly at Rachel as they passed her spot. Her girlfriend grinned back and managed an over-exaggerated wave.

Quinn looked straight ahead and said, "I'll just go see what she's up to today." she mumbled, before turning over and running right across the green field to meet their crazy coach. Santana and Brittany slowed down their jog as they turned their heads to follow the head-cheerleader while she tried to talk some sense into one Sue Sylvester. The rest of the Cheerios were lingering behind too, which was understandable. Santana had lost count of how many times they'd been around the field, but they were passing fifty, and her legs were turning into jelly. She had stamina, sure. But it was fucking six o'clock in the morning, and there had to be rules against these sort of things.

"Alright team, gather 'round!" Quinn announced then, waving the scattered cheerleaders towards the podium, where she started handing out water bottles. Santana accepted one and greedily emptied half of it in one gulp. Her heartbeat was slowing down quickly as she tripped back and forth to slow down her pulse. Rachel had closed her laptop and was watching the scene with curious eyes, and Santana smiled at her once more, ignoring the burning looks that most of her team-mates were sending in her direction.

Sue stepped down from her podium and tripped into the middle of the circle of Cheerios. "Girls, girls, girls..." she begun, shaking her head to herself as she clutched her bullhorn in one hand and her whistle in the other. Becky was shaking her head behind her as well, desperately holding onto her stop-watch. "I am appalled at how lousy you are at running. Do you not have properly functioning legs to move you forward? Do you not have feet and toes? Is there really a good reason as to why you _still_ haven't completed the hundred tracks I asked of you?" she took a dramatic pause and glanced over each of her squirming girls with a disappointed look,

"No ladies, no there is not." she firmly said, "This is simply just _not_ good enough. Do you think I won Nationals so many years in a row with a team of whimpering pussies? You need to work harder! You need to run faster, and most importantly... you need to _look _better. Nobody likes a sweaty cheerleader and all I'm seeing now is sweat, sweat, sweat. I will not stand for this. I don't sweat. Do you know why? Because I'm not physically capable of creating perspiration. Helped me a lot down in Iraq. And if you don't want me to send each and everyone of you off to boot camp, you will get your asses onto that field and continue to bend yourselves into shape. I want to see all of your skinny little legs behind your ears." she raised her bullhorn and turned to Brittany with a smouldering look. "NOW GET TO IT!"

Every and each Cheerio jumped into action at this point, and they all hurried onto the field, dividing themselves into little groups. Santana created one with Brittany and Quinn, and continued to bend herself over and touch the ground with her palms – it was going to take a lot of work for her to get her feet to meet her ears. Not even Brittany had been able to perform that particular task and she was the most bendy cheerleader ever.

Quinn moaned as she fell to the ground and tried to lift her right leg; it only got as far as to her chest before she groaned in pain and let her feet fall to the ground. "I don't get how anyone can do this!" she moaned, shielding her eyes with her hand as she glanced up at the Latina.

Brittany shrugged. "I can't do it. If she wants to still have Cheerios left, she shouldn't send us off to shoe camp just because we can't."

"Boot camp." Quinn corrected her on reflex, but Brittany just stared at her with wide eyes.

Santana fell to the ground as well and laid down a few inches away from the HBIC. "Rachel can still do this. Actually, she can get _both_ her legs behind her ears at the _same _time. She could totally be a Cheerio."

Quinn turned her head to the side and raised a perfectly plugged eyebrow in question. "Not that I wanna know how _you_ know this but... she can?"

Santana smirked, "Yup. 'S totally hot."

Brittany lifted her head slightly and glanced at the diva in question. "It's cuz she does ballet, right San?"

"Sure is Britt." the Latina replied and tried – and failed, as well – to lift her own feet to her ears. She got to her chin; a bit farther than Quinn, but still not nearly good enough. She groaned and decided to give up. Might as fucking well, shit was never going to happen.

"I just wanna shower." Quinn mumbled then, not to particularly anyone, sort of just to put it out there, "I really just wanna shower... is that too much to ask?"

Sue interrupted them before anyone could ever think about replying to the statement that really didn't need an answer. "Q!" she yelled, "I want to try the routine for Nationals before we go. Get your troops in order."

Quinn moaned in displeasure and right then, Santana couldn't feel more thrilled about the fact that she wasn't head-cheerleader anymore. It totally sucked ass, even if the power was awesome. And it served Quinn right for spilling her secret to Coach Sylvester – karma was a bitch. Not that Santana thought like that, because they'd put all of that behind them and wasn't mentioning it ever again. Didn't mean she couldn't _think_ it though.

As her blonde friend called everyone to order and Brittany continued to attempt to do the trick, Santana got up and dusted off the back of her Cheerios skirt. She couldn't wait to get changed into a clean one; this one was sweaty and gross and now full of grass-stains. She couldn't help but eye her girlfriend who was dutifully sitting on top of the bleachers, and thought back to the moment when she realised just _how _flexible Rachel really was. Heh. That was an amazing afternoon. Some goofy grin must've appeared on her face then as she got lost in thoughts, because before she could even attempt to prevent it, Jennifer Connelly had elbowed her in the ribs.

Flipping her hair behind her shoulder, she snarled out, "What ya' thinking about, Santana? Some sexy man-candy of yours? Oh wait. You haven't been getting any lately, we all know that."

The Latina arched an eyebrow and hissed right back, "You don't know shit, Connelly."

Jennifer laughed hollowly, "What's with Treasure Trail crashing all of our practices? She trying to steal some of our moves to put into one of your lame dance routines?"

"We don't need these fucking moves." Santana replied and took a step closer to the other girl; she couldn't help it. It was her way of protecting herself, of reacting to these type of situations. The best defence was an offence. And she was just about fucking done listening to this blonde bimbo everyday. She hated Jennifer just about as much as she loathed Finn Hudson, which evidently said a lot about the idiotic blonde.

She smirked down at her, "How do you even know Stubble's bendy? You got up on that? Makes sense to me, she is very manly after all."

Santana couldn't help herself then; it happened before she could even try to pull back. The reaction was immediate and out of her control. She launched forward and roughly pushed the other girl, because no one fucking said a word about Rachel like that. No _fucking_ one. That was just not okay! And especially not Jennifer Connelly because she was a hideous bitch with a fake nose and fat thighs. Screaming loudly, the blonde cheerleader tried to push the Latina off of her, and it was her lucky day, because Quinn came to Santana's aid immediately and pulled her away from her team-mate before she could do any real damage.

It would have fucking sucked to be kicked off the Cheerios for good.

Brittany was worrying her lower lip between her teeth, and Rachel was practically ready to flounce across all the rows of chairs to get to the scene. Quinn though, had a firm grip on Santana's biceps, and she didn't even need to say a word – the Latina knew that she was done for if Coach Sylvester heard her object to anything, so she shot her best friend an annoyed look and huffed as she returned to Brittany's side to try and ignore the idiotic moron who seemed to enjoy getting into other people's business.

Jennifer smirked at her and mouthed 'It's not over' before winking at her.

The rest of practice fucking sucked. She had to sit there for 45 minutes as everyone climbed on and off of her back, and after that she had to get thrown into the air again and again until she was so dizzy she could hardly stand. She didn't even notice that Rachel had left at some point (presumable to go practise in the choir room), but she successfully ignored Jennifer's look for the rest of the time.

When Coach Sylvester finally dismissed them to the showers, all the cheerleaders gathered their duffel bags and rushed to get beneath the hot water, hoping it'd help their sore muscles. Santana lingered behind with Quinn and Brittany for a second or two, because Quinn needed to gather all the equipment and put it away. When they'd finally hauled everything off to the right places, they hurried into the locker room as well. Santana threw her bag on the bench and quickly stepped out of her outfit, before hopping into the shower. A lot of her team-mates were already done and were changing into their clean uniforms. Santana wanted nothing more than to stand beneath the hot water forever, but she sort of wanted to see Rachel real quick before homeroom.

She lathered herself up good, before ducking beneath the shower-head once more; she breathed in and out steadily and closed her eyes. She could hear Brittany's mindless chit-chatter as she told Quinn about that bird in her backyard and how her cat had been really sneaky lately when it wanted to read her diary. Quinn's responses were few and far between, but Brittany didn't seem to mind at all. Santana bit her lip and tried to hold back her chuckle; Quinn had never been good at handling Brittany, but it was no surprise that Rachel was taking the task very seriously whenever they were together.

The Latina opened her eyes then and decided that that was that. Quinn shot her a panicked look when she left the stall, but Santana ignored it. Instead, she dried herself off and continued to pull on her uniform and do her hair. After that, she repacked her duffel bag and pulled out the little clutch she always kept her stuff in to take a look at the time. Her cell phone said that she still had twenty minutes before class, which would be enough to kiss Rachel senseless on the piano bench. Smirking to herself, she grabbed her make up and quickly proceeded to do her eyes, just as Quinn and Brittany returned, the tall blonde still talking about her cat.

Santana was just going to gather all her things to leave, when she heard the – quite frankly – very obnoxious voice of Jennifer Connelly. Stopping dead in her tracks, she turned to the side and zoomed in on the blonde cheerleader.

"...just makes me super uncomfortable! Who knows why she's sitting there – she's probably gay like her queer fathers."

The Latina could feel the blood start pumping inside of her veins as she got pretty damn mad pretty damn fast. Quinn shot her a panicked look, obviously having heard everything as well, but Santana simply couldn't just let this one slide. There was no Coach Sylvester there right now, and Jennifer fucking Connelly deserved to get a good bitch-slap. _No one_ talked about her girlfriend like that. No one said degrading things like that – as if being gay was somehow not okay and icky. Shit just wasn't fair, and the hussy needed to learn that.

"Or maybe she really does have male parts down there as well! Would make sense with those ugly features she has – she looks like some sort of transvestite or something."

The Latina could feel the adrenaline pump vivaciously inside of her, and she didn't even hear Quinn's concerned outburst, because she was too fucking worried about smacking Jennifer's head into the tiled floor. "_What_ did you just say?" she hissed, glaring at the blonde girl from across the room.

Jennifer turned around with a satisfied smirk. Santana knew that she'd just been waiting for a reaction like this, but she didn't honestly care that she was just taking the bite. Not when it was about this, not when it was about _Rachel_.

"I _said_," she hissed, clutching her little bag in one hand and her make up in the other, "what did you just say? _Bitch_?"

Jennifer's eyes flashed dangerously when she replied, "Just that RuPaul should get a new nose or something.. might make some of the boys tap her ass. And if not, at least she wouldn't look like such a drag queen."

Something evil flashed before Santana's eyes and she could feel her throat tighten dangerously. "Her nose is perfect!" she hissed; she didn't care what this sounded like, she couldn't even begin to think what people might read into it – she just knew that she protected what was hers, and Rachel fucking was, so the blonde bitch needed to back the hell off.

The other girl raised an eyebrow. "What's it to you, Santana? I do realise that Man Hands is like the Queen of the Freaks, but I didn't think you'd worship her gay ass like the rest of those suckers. It's enough that we have to watch _Finn Hudson_ get his freak on with her!"

"That's it!" Santana exclaimed; the combination of the insults and the mentioning of Finn's name as if it was downright crazy that he'd date Rachel (Jennifer could fucking have him if she wanted to; he was up for grabs) was what lit the fuse. Turning to Brittany, the angry Latina thrust her make up and her bag into the blonde's arms, "Brittany, hold my shit!" she hissed, before hopping over the bench to meet Jennifer who leisurely did the same to meet her halfway. "_Don't_ talk bad about Glee."

Jennifer chuckled. "What? You angry that the rest of us can see how much it sucks?"

Santana was practically shaking; this girl was hitting it all the right places, all the things that hurt her the most. The only thing she needed to mention was Brittany and she'd have said all of them. Santana didn't care what would happen if she beat the other girl down, she just really wanted to. "You do realise that your head-cheerleader is in Glee too and if you're not careful she'll throw you off the squad?"

Laughing once more, Jennifer shook her head and fluttered her eyelashes. "You're so stupid, Lopez. Of course she wouldn't! Coach Sylvester hates Glee too, and she loathes the fact that her three best cheerleaders are spending half their time singing show tunes!"

_That bitch better stop while she's still got her fake nose attached to the rest of her face... _

The Latina snorted; if she couldn't go at her with violence right away, a verbal bitch-slap was better than nothing. "Yeah, well we get extra credit and at least we're not spreading our legs to everyone at this school just to get ahead. And believe me, you shouldn't even be doing that. You're not that good in bed." she fired right back, and when Jennifer gaped at her with an open mouth, Santana threw in the last dig, "Yeah I know some shit, alright? Puck's my boy, he tells me shit. He said you were, yeah, what was it again? Fucking awful and frigging boring, and oh – you give the worst head _ever._"

"Shut up, you fucking slut!" Jennifer hissed, before she jumped forward and pushed Santana right into the bench behind her; her knees hit the side of it and the two girls toppled over, landing on the floor with a thud. Santana could hear Quinn yell profanities (which evidently told everybody that the situation was bad since Quinn rarely cursed), but she could hardly make them out as she was clawing, spitting, biting, pulling; desperately trying to do as much damage to the blonde bitch as humanly possible. She got a good chunk of hair from the back of her head, but Jennifer's ugly pink nails had scraped into Santana's arm, and she could feel the stinging and the distinctive smell of blood.

She managed to roll them over and was therefore on top, and she pinned the other girl down for a few seconds, before Jennifer shoved her over and Santana tumbled into Brittany who tumbled into the lockers behind her and dropped Santana's things to the floor with a loud smack; everything scattered all over the tiled floor, the sound effectively stopping all chatter inside the locker room. Everything quieted down some as Santana stared at Jennifer from her seat on the floor; Jennifer had hoisted herself onto her elbows and was heaving in and out.

Quinn was furious when she stepped between them and angrily growled, "You two! We're a team, ladies, a _team_! And if you cannot behave as such, I will be forced to kick you off the squad. We're supposed to be there for each other, through everything, so I will not – ever – find you two in this position again, are we clear?" she didn't wait for an answer, but turned to Jennifer with a huff, "And if you don't want to find yourself at the bottom of the pyramid, I suggest you change your mind about Glee Club. You're not that good of a cheerleader, Connelly, I can easily convince Coach Sylvester to replace you."

Jennifer shot Quinn an evil glare, before she turned over to return to her things and fix her appearance.

Quinn turned to Santana then, and the Latina raised herself off of the ground to meet her best friend and HBIC. "_What_, Q? What are you gonna say to me?"

The blonde shook her head and grabbed her duffel bag. "Control your temper, S!" she firmly said, before motioning towards the things on the floor, "And clean up your _mess_."

With those words, Quinn left the locker room as the first one, and Santana fell to the floor and angrily threw everything into her duffel bag in one huge mess, while some of the other cheerleaders fled the scene. Brittany bent down to help her, though she mostly just looked apologetic and tried to fold Santana's towel. The Latina grabbed her wallet, her eye-liner, ring, watch, keys, iPod, chapstick. Standing up, she let her eyes scan the entire floor and when nothing was left, she grabbed her bag and strove out of the locker room in a hurry, only shooting Jennifer a deadly glare on the way.

She could still feel the anger cursing madly through her veins and happily told herself that it was Friday. Friday meant weekend, meant relaxation, meant a whole lot of _Rachel_.

She fucking couldn't wait.

**x**

Lunch was rather interesting that Friday afternoon. The entire Glee Club was sitting around the same table for once; that didn't occur too often because they all had other (better) places to sit (like with the jocks and the Cheerios). But today Quinn had told Santana to stay away from their usual table (thereby staying away from Jennifer Connelly), and Puck and the guys had decided to join everyone else for a little Glee-togetherness.

Santana was just having huge troubles with Finn and the way he was currently sweet-talking Rachel from his seat next to her. It seriously sucked ass, like, the one time she was actually at the same table as Rachel during lunch, she couldn't even claim the seat next to her, before Frankenteen had swept in there and taken it from her. Instead, she was stuck between Puck and Quinn, and though they certainly were people, she'd really rather sit next to Rachel. Who was looking annoyingly happy to be sitting next to Finn, by the way.

Mercedes, who was sitting on Rachel's other side eating her beloved tater tots, was shooting confused glances between Finn, Rachel and Santana. The Latina met her friend's eyes a few times, but when Mercedes tried to question her through her look, she quickly diverted her eyes and turned her attention towards the lunch that Rachel had made for her. Nibbling at her salad, she told herself to simply tune it out; it did her no good to dwell on Finn Hudson and what he planned on doing next.

Quinn growled angrily next to her. "S! This is pathetic, you need to say something!" she whisper-yelled, lowering her head to look Santana straight in the eye.

Santana shrugged her shoulders. "Don't you think I've already said something? He doesn't get it, Q! He wants her back, so he's gonna try. It's not like I'm worried or anything. We're good."

The blonde's eyes searched the Latina's eyes for a second or two, before she nodded. "Alright. Sure, you're good, but Santana – he needs to back off and respect that you're dating her. Watching him trying to smooth-talk her is seriously making me want to barf."

"You and me both." Santana agreed in a murmur before turning her attention back to her girlfriend who was battering Finn's hand away as he tried to steal some of her sliced vegetables. Fucking moron. He never liked vegetables, and now he was stealing them off her plate? Douche bag.

"Lopez, seriously." Puck mumbled, lowering his voice in a very uncertain manner, "You need to claim your girl. I don't care if you're not out yet at this school, you shouldn't have to look at this. He _knows_ you're together and he should fucking respect that."

Heaving in a deep breath, Santana let her eyes move back to settle on her girlfriend. "Thing is, ass-clown, I feel like I already did claim her. Is one serenade not enough?" she hissed angrily at him, while her heart thudded madly in her chest, because Rachel had turned her head over slightly and caught her gaze for a brief moment; now her smile turned wider.

Puck shrugged his shoulders, "You need me to say something? I'll get him to back off. He's my man, but I'll do it."

"This is seriously becoming too much, San." Brittany chipped in with a little nod. "Yeah."

Santana bit her lip and thought about it for a second or two; she could just let Finn be and attempt to ignore it – it wouldn't matter anyway, because he'd lost his shot and all Rachel wanted from him was friendship. But still – she hated the fact that someone else was just putting the moves on something that by all means _belonged_ to her. It was a serious hit to her pride and not normally something she'd let happen. The thing with Rachel was just that if Santana actually made an effort to put a stop to it – the diva would get so mad. But wasn't it better to get Finn off her back and then just make up with Rachel afterwards?

The idea seemed more and more intriguing to her...

Making up her mind, the Latina grabbed the rest of her lunch and strode around the table. She stopped behind Finn and Rachel and with a harsh poke to his shoulder, she hissed, "Move over, Frankenteen, I need to sit there."

Finn shot her a dopey look. "We're in the middle of a conversation, Santana. Do you mind?"

Glaring at him, Santana roughly shoved him aside and squeezed her way into the small space it created between his giant frame and Rachel. Quinn chuckled madly at the other side of the table, hiding her grin behind her sandwich. Placing her lunch on the table in front of her, Santana continued to ignore Finn's objects and the way that Rachel was eyeing her curiously.

"You don't need to hog her, just 'cuz you're dating!" Finn lamely said, which caused Santana to turn around and give him a questionable look, "I was just talking to her. She's allowed to be with other people, right?"

Rolling her eyes, Santana scoffed, "You weren't just talking to her and we both know it. Get out of my way before I punch in your nose."

Finn stood up then, a pissed-off look across his face, and he grabbed his water bottle, before turning from the table towards the hallway. Santana was quite pleased with herself when she returned to her lunch, forking a piece of the delicious chicken in her salad. She chewed away happily, while trying to ignore how everyone was looking at her. Especially Rachel. Because the way her eyes burned holes in Santana's cheeks? Yeah, that wasn't nice.

"Santana!" she lowly hissed, leaning in closer to block out their team-mates, "That was entirely uncalled for!"

The Latina let fork be fork and turned to lock her eyes with her girlfriend's, forcing herself to stay calm and _talk it out_ with the other girl, instead of getting angry like she really wanted to. "Baby, you don't see how he's acting with you. I'm not the only one who notices it. Besides," she licked her lips in a vain attempt to distract Rachel from _her_ anger, "I just wanna spend time with you, okay? We're finally at the same lunch table. Is that so wrong?"

Rachel's eyes softened a little bit and she carefully moved her hand across the bench to rest almost invisibly on Santana's thigh. "No." she whispered, rubbing a small circle on the inside of the cheerleader's leg, "I want to spend time with you as well. But you can't treat Finn that way. He's our friend."

"He wants to be more." Santana seriously replied back. Never had she looked more firmly into the diva's eyes – she wanted to get her point across, she desperately wanted Rachel to notice these things, so she could feel better, so she could know that she wasn't going crazy, and that she wasn't just insanely jealous and protective. Was that really too much to ask?

Rachel's eyes flickered nervously back and forth for a few seconds as the idea settled in. Biting her lip, the singer shook her head. "No," she whispered, her hands stilling its movement on Santana's leg, "no, you're being ridiculous. Finn and I are just friends now. He's supportive of us. We've worked out our differences. Naturally, at first, he was a little shaken up by the idea of you and I engaging in a romantic relationship, but he's so much better now. He never makes any comments, and we're always just talking about Glee and school-related activities."

_What a load of bullshit! He's feeding her bullshit! _"Tiny," the Latina continued, her voice dropping even lower, "I know you see the best in everyone, and it's something that I love about you, but... Finn Hudson's still in love with you and I really don't like that you're spending so much time with him."

Sighing heavily, Rachel brushed a piece of her hair away from her face and sat up straight, "Santana. I can't have this conversation with you, not when you refuse to see the valid facts."

"Oh my_ God_!" Santana argued back, now completely losing it; the anger that had bubbled within her since Finn 'stole' her seat at the beginning of lunch was now returning. Rachel was being utterly stupid and couldn't see what was right beneath her nose. And she had the nerve to call _her_ blind to the facts? Shit was so not right! "Could you maybe open your eyes for _just_ a second and see that he's _hitting_ on you – right in front of me!"

This caused everyone at their table to turn around and stare at them; they were used to Santana losing her temper, it happened often, but never – in all the time that they'd known about the two girls – had they heard Santana raise her voice like that in front of Rachel. And that's because Santana hadn't; actually, she'd never even thought about it because Rachel didn't really piss her off. And the Latina realised pretty quickly, as Rachel's lower lip quivered dangerously, that it fucking sucked to be mad at the other girl.

She looked absolutely heartbroken.

"Tiny..." Santana managed to croak out, but Rachel was already gathering up her things from the table with a huff.

"Santana," she firmly said, straightening her back and jutting her chin out, "this is not a conversation appropriate for an environment such as the cafeteria. I will kindly ask you to save it for a later date, and perhaps remember that I don't particularly enjoy being snapped at simply because you're feeling insecure." she stomped her foot then, before turning around on her heel and marching out of the crowded cafeteria.

Santana turned to gape at their team-mates with wide eyes. Puck was grinning smugly, and Quinn just looked annoyed. But it was Tina who snapped her fingers roughly in front of Santana's eyes and said, "_Hey_, stupid! What are you sitting here for? Go find her!"

The Latina didn't even stay behind to tell the Asian girl to never call her stupid again, instead she let lunch be lunch and followed Rachel's path out of the cafeteria with giant steps. That tiny girl couldn't have gotten far, right? But damn, she always ran around like the speed of light. It was those long (amazing) legs of hers! How someone so tiny got legs like that, the cheerleader would never know. She greatly appreciated them though. They looked so fine placed around her waist or tangled with hers in bed. Or even better, wrapped tightly around her head as she ate her out. Those legs could really- oh. She was getting slightly off-track here. What was it that she was supposed to be doing again? That's right. Find Rachel and talk to her because that stupid fight was nothing but that – stupid.

It didn't even matter what Finnocence wanted to do, Santana wasn't worried. It just bothered her that Rachel couldn't see it. If she did see it, she could tell Finn to back the hell off and everything would be so much better. Because apparently Frankenteen didn't get the message when she threatened him with bodily harm...

Santana stopped by every bathroom, but found all of them empty. It was just a precaution though, because she _knew_ where Rachel would be. She knew her girlfriend, and it was safe to say that she'd be in the choir room. Checking her watch, the cheerleader realised that lunch was over soon, but what the fuck, it didn't matter anyway. What mattered was her and Rachel sorting through this.

She found the little diva trailing her fingers across they keys of the piano with marvellous speed. Entering the familiar room, Santana closed the door behind her and approached the other girl carefully. How was she supposed to handle this for real? Sure, they'd had tiny disagreements after they started dating, but Rachel was legit angry with her right now. Like back before they dated and she'd had to sing for her and everything... was she going to have to sing now too? Hell to the no. She wasn't doing that again; Rachel would just have to see that she wasn't the one who was right this time. Generally, Santana hated admitting that she was wrong, which was why she was reluctant to do so. But she sure as hell wasn't going to admit to being wrong when she definitely _wasn't_.

"Tiny.." she whispered, stepping closer to the piano, resting her hand on the beautiful instrument as she stood there.

Letting her hands drop to her lap, Rachel didn't look up to meet her eyes when she replied, "I'm mad at you."

Santana took it as a generally good thing that the other girl was at least talking to her, so she pushed her luck and took a seat next to her on the piano bench. Thankfully, Rachel didn't move away. "I know you're mad, but please just try to see things from my side." the Latina whispered, her hand lingering at the other girl's back, desperately wanting to tug her closer, to touch her somehow.

Turning her head to the side, Rachel met her eyes, and Santana hated the fact that there was moisture gathered at her lower eyelids. "I am trying to see things from your side..." Rachel whispered, as she swallowed thickly, "And after careful deliberation with myself, I have come to realise that you _may_ be right when you say that Finn has romantic ulterior motives when he persuades conversation with me."

Santana had no idea how Rachel could have deliberated with herself during the whole ten minutes they were apart, but she wasn't going to comment on that. She was going to be happy that Rachel seemed to finally realise that Finn Hudson was up to no good. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Really?"

The diva nodded her head quickly. "I'm sorry, Baby. I guess I was just so excited that we could be friends even after everything we went through. Finn was the first person to ever be nice to me at this school. It's just not something one forgets..." she trailed off, placing a soft hand on Santana's cheek. "But that put aside, I shouldn't spend so much time with him, if it's bothering you, because you are the most important."

The Latina couldn't help the sheepish grin that came to her face then. "Yeah?"

"And that's because..." taking in a deep breath, Rachel shyly smiled at her, "I love you."

The immediate reaction to that statement caused a shitload of different emotions to well up inside Santana, and the most noticeable one was the erratic thudding of her heart against her ribcage as small waves of shivers ran up and down her bare arms and legs. _She loves me. _Santana couldn't help but think as a smile that matched Rachel's broke out on her own face as well. _Rachel Berry just told me that she loves me. _"You do?" she heard herself whisper.

Biting her lip, Rachel nodded. "I love you so much, and – and there's no contest between you and Finn. In the perfect world I'd wish for all of us to stay friends and be happy, but apparently he needs more time. And I want you to know that when it comes down between the two of you – or you and anybody else for that matter – you're going to win everytime. _Hands down_."

Leaning forward, Santana pressed several small kisses against the singer's lips as she marvelled in the feelings that those words brought up in her. It was a fantastic feeling. Practically perfect. Nothing – not even Finn fucking Hudson – could ruin this moment for her, or this relationship. She didn't know how it happened, but somehow it did, and now Rachel was turning into the most important person in her world as well. She couldn't explain it, but she welcomed it, because the thought of a world without the diva pulled seriously on her heartstrings. She breathed out deeply as she leaned over, resting her forehead against the diva's. "I love you too."

"Yes?"

"Yeah." Santana agreed, pressing her lips to Rachel's once more.

"I'm going to talk to Finn again." Rachel quickly promised, as the late bell rung out, telling the two girls that they should probably get going. Not that either of them seemed to mind; not even Rachel who _never_ missed school. "I'm going to explain it to him. We can still continue our platonic friendship, but if he as much as touches me, I'm going to stop it. And Baby, if you see him do anything you deem inappropriate, you have my permission to hit him."

That was epic. Especially since Rachel abhorred violence. Santana smirked. "So we're good, right? Sorry for yelling."

Rachel nodded, "I'm sorry for being clueless."

Santana got off the piano bench and carefully guided Rachel towards the door. "I know you're busy with your family this weekend and I have extra Cheerio practice for Regionals, but would you come over on Sunday and spend the night? I know it's a school night, but both my parents have work and I have to watch Oz. Would you join me?"

The little diva lit up like a kid in a candy store. "I'd love to! We've never spent a night at your place. This should be so interesting." she giddily jumped up and down as they rounded the corner and reached her French class. "If I don't see you, I'll call you later, okay? I can't wait for Sunday."

"I can't wait either." Santana mumbled, before turning down the hallway to get to her class, as well. And she also most definitely couldn't wait until Rachel called her later – it was the only thing she had to look forward to this Friday evening, unless, of course, she decided to hang with Quinn and Brittany.

**x**

Rachel _didn't_ call her later. In fact, no one did. And they didn't text her either. Which – at first – worried the Latina a lot, because hey, she was awesome, she should get texts. But then she quickly realised why she wasn't feeling the familiar vibration in her pocket.

_Her phone wasn't there._

Which ultimately led her to believe that she'd lost it at school. Which sucked, because she'd have to survive the entire weekend without it, since there was no way in hell she could get into McKinley High after hours. So to make sure that everybody knew she wasn't just ignoring them, she sent a few messages via Facebook and all was good. Rachel replied to hers with a detailed list of appropriate activities for them to participate in with Oscar on Sunday, and the Latina chuckled to herself as she read it over.

She spent her Friday night with Brittany, Quinn and Sam at Puck's, drinking and just generally hanging out, which was okay, but she did miss Rachel a lot. She couldn't remember the last time she'd not spent her Friday with her girlfriend. It was good though, because she hated those couples who couldn't do anything without the other – it just really sucked anyway when all she wanted was to have Rachel next to her.

Saturday was alright as well; she spent the entire day with the Cheerios, which was awful, because Coach Sylvester was on their case, whipping their asses into shape for Regionals. But it was still fun trying to mess with Jennifer Connelly; the Latina did nothing but shoot her evil glares, which seemed to hold the blonde girl off, even though she looked particularly smug about something, only God knows what. All night she Facebook chatted with her friends (darn that stupid phone and its tendency to get completely lost) and hustled her mother's cell to have a short (long) conversation with Rachel.

On Sunday there was family brunch, and once the lunatics had cleared out, Santana found herself and Oscar waiting impatiently for Rachel's arrival. She wasn't sure who was most excited, herself or Oscar. But the second the doorbell rang, her little brother flung himself out of his chair, opened the door and threw himself into the diva's arms.

"Rachel!" he happily cheered, squeezing her tightly, "I missed you."

Laughing, Rachel padded his head awkwardly and locked her eyes with Santana's above his head, "I missed you too." she mumbled, before gently prying him off her and dumping her overnight bag in the hallway.

Santana managed to greet her girlfriend with a quick kiss on the lips before Oscar grabbed her hand, and while dragging her towards the family room, started going on about all the different kind of things they could spend their afternoon and evening doing. The cheerleader was positively certain that he would wear himself out by seven o'clock, which worked well for the plans that she had for her and Rachel that evening; now c'mon, they'd never had sex in her bedroom – that was a _must_!

So while Santana had to endure an afternoon of crazy ideas (and most of them weren't even Oscar's, they were Rachel's, no lie), she couldn't help but imagine all the different ways that she was going to make Rachel scream out her name. It wasn't wrong, she believed, to simply close her eyes and daydream about such events while her brother was hogging her girlfriend, playing some sort of ridiculous game on his Wii. All this hogging would ultimately lead to his early bedtime and that would be best for _everyone _involved.

They made a weird dinner with everything that was in their kitchen and ate it all in the living room, much like three pigs. Rachel wasn't even complaining, and Santana could tell that she loved seeing the complete joy in Oscar's eyes, which the Latina could understand. Rachel had never had siblings, so interacting with one must be pretty damn special for her. Santana swore to herself that they were going to hang out with Oscar more; it made both her brother and her girlfriend happy, so what was there to lose?

After dinner, Oscar fell completely silent on the couch with _Beauty and the Beast _playing on the flat screen TV. Santana and Rachel were snuggled up in the big, comfortable chair, their arms around each other, and Rachel's head resting gently against Santana's chest. She could feel the comforting steady beat of Rachel's heart beneath her hand, and she held on tighter, closing her eyes a little as she took in the scent that was all Rachel Berry. The diva was, of course, consumed in the film, and Oscar's light snoring told everybody that he'd had the most wonderful day in a long time.

"I really missed your short texts this weekend." Rachel whispered, moving her hand over to gently weave her fingers through Santana's.

The Latina sighed at the contact. "Yeah, I missed writing them. I have no fucking idea how I managed to lose my phone. I know I'm messy, but I usually don't forget it."

Rachel chuckled, "How are you going to find it tomorrow?"

Santana shrugged her shoulders the best way possible with Rachel squeezed so tightly against her. "I'm uhm, I thought I was going to uh – to just flash a little cleavage and work the whole thing out!"

Appalled, Rachel turned her eyes upwards and met Santana's, "You will not!" she exclaimed, and it was hard to tell whether she was amused or terrified.

The taller girl smiled warmly at the smaller one. "Sure I will, Tiny," she whispered, "my breasts can solve anything. Just let me know if you have problems, and I'll deal with them." she joked, motioning towards her two babies for good measure. She was hardly joking though, her breasts _were_ known to get her out of bad situations.

Rachel's eyes followed Santana's gaze, and the diva blushed a deep red before looking up at her again. "You do have amazing breasts, Baby, that's no lie..." she whispered, biting her lip, before lowering her gaze again, hungrily eyeing the cheerleader's best assets.

"Yup, thanks to Mamá." she mumbled, just as Rachel turned around in the chair, straddling her, the film quickly forgotten.

Their eyes locked firmly, and as Santana leaned in to trace her lips against Rachel's, she felt two hands creep their way up her tank top towards her chest. She wasn't wearing a bra, so when Rachel palmed her breasts, her nipples peaked immediately. Rachel continued to trail her hands all over the Latina, as both of their breaths picked up noticeably, and a sheepish grin covered the diva's features.

"I never used to like plastic surgery..." she whispered, placing a kiss on Santana's neck, right beneath her ear, "I thought it was a stupid choice, but now..." she grinned goofily and flicked her thumb over Santana's right nipple, "I couldn't be more happy about the idea. Especially when the outcome is _this_ fabulous!" she firmly finished, before roughly squeezing both breasts once more, causing a loud moan to escape Santana's lips.

The two girls lowered their heads then and their lips met in a rough kiss, as Santana's hand settled on the lower part of Rachel's back, just above her butt, and Rachel continued to trail her hand over the cheerleader's upper body. Teeth, tongues and lips were meeting feverishly as things heated up between the two girls. Rachel's core was pressed firmly into Santana's thigh as she straddled her, and she could feel the familiar throbbing in the girl's centre, and squirming just right, she pulled a mewl from deep within the diva's throat.

Rachel trailed one of her hands from under the Latina's top and determinedly wormed it into the other girl's pants in a hurry. Santana wanted nothing more than for her to continue, but the fact of the matter was that they couldn't do that there – Oscar was lying right on the couch, and though he wasn't a light sleeper, it was probably better if they continued this upstairs. So as much as it pained her to do it, she placed a firm grip around Rachel's wrist and the girl met her eyes.

"We can't do this here." she whispered, pecking the her lips, "We need to get upstairs."

Pulling her hands away from Santana, Rachel pouted.

Santana couldn't help but chuckle; Rachel was so damn adorable when she wanted something. It wasn't fucking fair of anyone to ask her to deny it! "I have a few things I need to get ready upstairs..." Santana whispered, thinking back to the candles and the music that she had planned for them, and most definitely to her messy room, which she knew would give Rachel a heart attack if she didn't clean it up somehow, "Why don't you get Oz into bed and come meet me in..." she thought it over for a second, "Fifteen minutes?"

Something curious flickered over Rachel's eyes, but the diva didn't say anything, even though the Latina knew she hated surprises. Instead, she got off the chair and moved to turn off the TV. Santana offered her a reassuring smile, before she turned around and hurried up the staircase to her room. Turning down the hall, she closed the door with a light thud and turned to survey the state of her bedroom. It really was a complete mess, and Rachel would never have sex with her if she saw it. Why she didn't clean up earlier, she didn't know, but at the time it seemed like a good idea.

She turned on her laptop and swirled to to kick all the clutter beneath the bed. Clean clothes, dirty clothes, CDs, school books – everything went there. For a brief second she wondered if she'd find her cell phone somewhere in the mess, but quickly realised that she'd had it Friday morning, because Rachel had sent her this little text with a heart in it, and she'd sent a smiley face right back, which caused Rachel to reply with- oh yeah. She was getting slightly off track here. She wondered why that always happened when she thought about the little brunette.

The Latina grinned goofily to herself and moved to light all the candles she'd scattered around the room just for a moment like this; she'd been waiting patiently to get Rachel in her room. Sure, she could stay over when her parents were home, it would just make for a very annoying night since her parent's bedroom was right across from hers and they could hear practically _everything_. And like she'd voiced often before, she really didn't want Rachel to suffer with her idiotic family – though it seemed like the diva hardly _minded _much.

When everything was to her liking, Santana turned to her desk and took a seat, intending to find some suitable music for the evening. She could hear Rachel's soft, clear voice ring out from the other end of the hallway, where she was probably singing to Oscar while tugging him into bed. Was it wrong that the Latina could imagine possibly one day sitting in her own bedroom in her own house, listening to Rachel sing to _their_ own kids? Santana gulped and mentally told herself to slow down; she was getting too ahead, and it was hardly like her to think such things. But maybe that was the entire point somehow – Rachel _made_ her like this; she actually made her a better person in a way.

She quickly made up a new playlist and called it 'Sexy times', before checking her watch. She still had time to spare, so she decided to just check her messages on Facebook. Since no one had been able to get a hold of her over text this entire weekend, this had been her way of communicating with Quinn, Brittany and a few other selected people. She logged onto her account and felt her eyes go wide when she saw how many notifications she had.

_What. the. fuck? _

She clicked on the first one. Some idiot she didn't even know had apparently written on her wall. What the hell did that matter? Scum-bags wrote on her wall all the time to try to get her into bed! She'd learn to ignore it and delete the comments. Clicking onto her profile, Santana bit her lip and scrolled downwards. What... She felt the breath hitch in her throat. Something was most definitely up with this, and she wasn't sure she was going to like it.

One said: _Oh, so the Queen Bitch does have a heart! _

Another said: _Way to pick the most unpopular girl in school, Lopez.. _

And a third one simply said: _Dyke! _

Several other messages of that kind were scattered all over her profile page, and Santana scrolled down, trying to detect any familiar names, but there were none. She could feel her heart beat in her chest, much like it had just done downstairs, but this was for an entirely different reason, and it was not at all pleasant. She tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear and scrolled up again, clicking on her private messages.

There were several from different members of Glee, but over a dozen from Quinn. Opening one from Puck titled 'nice pictures, lopez!', Santana furrowed her brow as she read over his words: _Why am I getting fucking hot pictures of u & Rachel sent to my phone from u? I like it, but I thought u lost ur cell!'. _

Going backwards, she clicked on the first one from Quinn and read over the words: _Figures the damn weekend you lose your phone, I really need to get a hold of you. Call me, it's important. _

Another one: _You need to talk to Rachel. You both need to call me. _

And another: _Damnit S! This is really frigging important! Have you seen Jacob's blog? Do it, just check Jacob's blog and get back to me. And for the love of God, just talk to Rachel! _

Santana decided to ignore all the other messages and hesitantly typed in the URL to Jacob's blog. What the fuck was up with everything right now? Why were people writing on her wall like that, and why was Quinn freaking out this way? She never used to be worried, but this fucking scared her. And what about Rachel, what did she have to do with it? Apparently she was oblivious to whatever drama she was a part of, because she hadn't said a word about it...

But it would make sense. She didn't check Jacob's blog, not anymore. Not since he started posting weird photos of her that he shot from the tree outside of her bedroom. She didn't want to participate in lame gossip, she'd said, so she didn't want to spend her time reading that stupid thing. Which was why she didn't know about whatever it was that everyone else seemed to know about.

Pressing enter, Santana screwed her eyes shut and feared what she was going to see. She had a bad fucking feeling about this, especially after some of the things that people had written on her wall... did they-? But how could they! How was it even possible that it had come out? She swore to God, if it was Finnocence who had spilled those beans... she was going to frigging _kill _him.

"Santana?"

Opening her eyes, she found Rachel standing in her doorway with an amused expression across her face. She was beautiful, as she stood there, so happy and perfect, and the Latina wondered for a second if all of this was about to change now.

Rachel took a glance around the room. "This is amazing, Baby..." she whispered, stepping closer, to gently wrap her arms around the cheerleader's torso from behind. "What are you doing?"

Suddenly remembering what she was about to look at before, Santana's eyes turned back to the screen, and before she even managed to say anything, Rachel had gasped loudly. There, on the top of that page, beneath countless of pictures, was a long article titled: _**Breaking News**__! McKinley's unofficial HBIC Santana Lopez is getting her lady mack on with Queen of the Freaks, Rachel Berry!_

And in great detail beneath it was written text messages exchanged between the two of them, and Jacob's own synopsis as to how their relationship had started out. But the worst of it wasn't all of that; it was all of the pictures scattered around the pages – all the pictures that Santana had spent a long time taking of the two of them.

Rachel's grip tightened dangerously around her shoulders, and her voice was low and breathless as she whispered, "Scroll down, Baby..."

Santana did as she was asked, and there, on the bottom of that page, was a small video. She only hesitated for a second, before clicking the 'play' button. And then, right on that computer screen, was Santana declaring her love to the other girl that day in Rachel's bedroom.

Gulping loudly, Santana turned her head to the side to meet her girlfriend's eyes.

Fuck.

They were _seriously_ fucked.

* * *

_Urgh. This chapter is so messed up all over the place. There's like no composition and no point of view. But no matter how I tried to fix it, it just wouldn't turn out okay! I really hope it's not too horrible, and that you still enjoyed the chapter, even if I'm not satisfied with the outcome. _

_So yeah! I was talking about drama, and this should be the official start! I have a lot of things in mind I want to happen to the two girls, but if you've got any great ideas you want to share, do tell! Because I have a lot of things planned, but one get never get too many inputs. _

_I want to thank you so much for reading the last chapter and for reviewing it :) I'm happy to know that you enjoyed it, and that my attempt at smut wasn't abysmal. I think I will most definitely try my hand at it again, but for now – there's definitely drama! _

_Please tell me what you thought about this chapter as well – your opinions mean the world to me ;-) _

_So. "Original Song"? Any thoughts? _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee, RENT or any movies or songs mentioned. _


	18. Everybody Stares at Me

**Chapter Eighteen **

**Everybody Stares at Me**

"Santana, we are going to be _fine_."

Pacing around her room, Santana clenched her fists by her sides and shook her head to herself. No. No, there was just no way. They simply wouldn't be _fine_. Fine was not the way that she was feeling right now; she was furious and she was going to commit murder by the next day, but fuckety fucking fuck! She was afraid, too.

_I am so screwed. Everyone knows. Everyone has seen the pictures... _

Rachel leaned forward quickly and grabbed Santana by the wrist as the Latina was pacing by. "_Baby_!" she firmly said, which caused Santana to stop and turn her head over to look at her. "Will you please sit down? This isn't the end of the world. Everything will work out."

Santana ripped her hand out of Rachel's grasp and took a step forward, roughly shaking her head. "No". She mumbled, darting her eyes towards the ceiling; she couldn't look at the diva, not right now. "It's not going to be _fine_, Rachel. Everything will be so messed up!" she argued, before turning on her heel and surging towards the back of her room. When she reached the wall, she turned again and continued to pace back. Repeating the pattern, she waited for Rachel to say something, but not a sound came out, and Santana couldn't get herself to look at her.

Angrily kicking her left foot into her closet door, Santana groaned. "Fuck!" she yelled, _Nothing will ever be the same again, nothing. They're all going to make fun of me, they're going to look down on me. How will I even go in there tomorrow? _she asked herself as she bit her lip in worry. She was afraid of what was going to happen, but why was it that she couldn't say this to her girlfriend? Her sweet, adoring girlfriend, who was sitting right there on her bed, watching her, with worry in her eyes?

"Look at the bright side," Rachel offered then, tryingly sending her a small smile. "it could have been so much worse."

Sighing deeply, Santana willed herself to take a seat next to the singer, and though she'd usually find comfort in Rachel's soothing touch, right now, she just wanted to shrug her hand off, when she placed it on her shoulder. She didn't though, she forced herself to let it be. "How?" she whispered instead, not meeting the diva's eyes, "How could it have been so much worse?"

Rachel was quiet for a few seconds, and for a while Santana thought she had nothing to say, but when she finally opened her mouth, the Latina had to agree that it was a rather good thing that _that_ hadn't happened. "The person _could_ have posted the pictures you took of me in _only_ my shorts." she breathed out deeply. "Though I can hardly say that I'm comforted by the fact that some prick has seen me like that, it is better than the entire world seeing me like that."

The Latina turned her head to the side then and stared at her girlfriend. "This is fucked up, Rach. Why don't we just stay home tomorrow?"

Rachel scoffed, "I hardly believe that that is a good idea." she shook her head and bounced off the bed. "We're going to have to go there and face whatever will happen. And I propose we try to get some rest now, Regionals is coming up and we do need our sleep."

As Rachel got ready for bed and tucked herself beneath the covers, Santana could do nothing but sit there; she was certain that she wasn't going to sleep a wink. She had too much on her mind. Like the fact that the _entire_ student body knew that she was gay. That was like, everybody. Because _everybody_ read Jacob Ben-Israel's blog. They'd seen the obnoxiously cute pictures she'd taken of herself and Rachel; they'd even been privy to their exchanged text messages. They'd _watched_ the video where she declared her love for the other girl.

She was freaking the fuck out!

Hello, how was this even possible? She'd lost her phone somewhere between Friday morning and Friday afternoon. But that left like a helluva lot of hours on school grounds. She'd been everywhere. On the football field, in the locker room, in the hallways, the cafeteria and the choir room. There were so many different possibilities! All she knew was that Jacob was probably too stupid the be the brains behind the operation. He wasn't exactly subtle. And if exposed to the more uhm... _private_ pictures of Rachel (which Santana was still _very_ thankful hadn't been posted on the blog) he'd probably have been jagging off the entire weekend with no time to post _anything_ anywhere.

But seriously. Someone had her phone. And the same someone had given Jacob some of her private things. What the fuck? Were there no good people left in this world – people who simply understood what said action would do to her reputation, and therefore her _life_? She was going to have to get her phone back and whoever was responsible? That person was going to get _it_. She was going to rip said person into shreds and burn them into ashes. Nothing was gonna cut it – whoever did this deserved to fucking die.

And as far as Santana was concerned, there were three possible delinquents. The most obvious choice was Finn fucking Hudson. He was a jealous prick who wanted to get it on with her girlfriend. He didn't care if he hurt her, as long as he got Rachel. And as wonderful as that sounded (believe her, Santana wanted it to be him – it'd give her a legitimate excuse to bust his balls), it probably wasn't. Finn was too stupid to pull something like this off. Plus, he really did care about Rachel (Santana hated that), so he'd never do anything to intentionally hurt her. Another promising option was one Sue Sylvester. She hated Glee enough to do it; she'd go through with anything to get Glee down, and if she'd found Santana's phone in the locker room (the brawl she'd had with Jennifer did seem like the place where she would have most likely dropped it), she would have taken it to good use immediately.

Oh, and then there was Jennifer Connelly. The fucking blonde, dumb bitch with the fake nose. She'd looked so smug during Saturday's practice. It could be her. It most likely _was_ her. Santana just hated it if it was, because there was no way in hell she could fucking prove it. So she'd have to rule the others out. She'd start with Finn; a hard glare from her and he'd pee his pants. That's how she'd know, and what she'd do first when Rachel forced her to go to school (she skipped Cheerios practise. It was Quinn's instructions, and well, she really didn't feel like going).

Except the firs thing that happened? So wasn't Santana punching Finn Hudson. No, because when she and Rachel pulled into the parking lot at school in Rachel's Prius on Monday, everybody turned to stare at her – well, at _them_. It felt like they were looking at her in slow motion. When she got out of the car and pulled Rachel closer for the walk across campus, she could see them, talking about her; whispering, sniggering, she could feel their eyes on her and the way that they all seemed to look down on them. Rachel was mumbling reassuring words into her side and on purpose striding towards their destination with renewed determination. She was used to being looked at, made fun of – but this was on an entirely new level, and it seemed to freak the tinier girl out in some way.

Walking through the double doors that led into the main hallway, Santana found herself holding her breath. What was going to happen to them? How were they going to be treated? She was basically ready to get beaten up the second they stepped inside... But she barely managed to take a look at all the people lingering around in there, before Rachel had taken a firm grip around her bicep and pulled her into the small supply closet by the bathrooms. Closing the door shut behind them, Santana glanced down at her girlfriend, trying to get her eyes to adjust to the dark room.

"'The fuck?" she questioned, glaring down at the small brunette.

Rachel's tight grip loosened around her arm, and she felt the diva huff out deeply more than she heard it, when she said, "Santana, don't pull away from me." she seriously hissed.

Feeling the dread creep over her from behind, Santana crumbled beneath Rachel's hard stare, "What? I'm not pulling away." she quickly said, but it sounded a lot like a lie, even in her own ears. She didn't know what it was, but she'd felt it; she'd done what she always do whenever things become too much – she pulls away, she closes off and tries to shut people out. Which was something she'd never thought she'd do with Rachel, but it wasn't exactly easy to change just because she wanted to. Just the thought of going into that hallway with Rachel's hand in hers... she could feel her throat tightening, her pulse quickening, and all she wanted was to burst into tears. She couldn't do this, she _couldn't_.

The look that Rachel shot her, told the Latina that she saw right through her. Damn that girl for knowing her so well! The brunette stepped closer and placed a hand on each of the Latina's cheeks, locking their eyes so firmly, the cheerleader simply couldn't look away, "Remember last Friday?" she breathed, her eyes going soft with feelings and her breath tickling Santana's upper lip, "Remember it? We said 'I love you' on the piano bench... And I meant it. I _did_." she swallowed thickly, "I can feel you shutting me out already, and I don't like it."

Closing her eyes for a second, Santana cursed the tears that welled up in there. "I'm sorry." she hoarsely replied, because fuck that. Seeing Rachel so vulnerable and honest, and simply just wanting to do them both good... she couldn't imagine what it'd be like to not have Rachel; she had to have her, there was just no other way. She had to be able to get through this, she had to force herself to face it and be stronger, even when everything inside of her told her to run away. "Tiny, I'm really sorry, I'm just... I meant it, too."

A little smile found its way onto Rachel's face and she leaned up, gingerly placing a short kiss on the cheerleader's lips. "We're going to be okay, Santana. I know you're not used to people talking bad about you... usually they admire you in fear, but – I can tell you from experience, it's not so hard. Just ignore them, and keep being _you_. No matter what happens, you're always going to be Santana fucking Lopez."

The Latina couldn't help the teary smile that came onto her lips when Rachel so carefully used the word 'fucking' – she didn't even curse in bed, so it was a very rare occurrence to hear her do it. "I trust you." she murmured, pulling the other girl closer again, to press their mouths together in another kiss; this time deeper and more urgent. She just needed to breathe Rachel in completely for a second, to have her there, in that supply closet before they had to face the world together. Rachel kissed her back just as eagerly and her tiny fingers were tangled in the long strands of her ponytail. She hummed against her mouth and Santana found herself cheering up a bit, even though the idea of venturing out of that closet – she chuckled into Rachel's mouth when she realised the irony – simply did not appeal to her.

Suddenly, the door was ripped open and the two girls pulled apart as a stream of light blinded them, and two other bodies wormed their way into the already cramped closet and closed the door again. Someone stepped on Santana's foot and she cursed loudly and blindly hit the person closest to her, which caused someone to complain out loud. That sounded an awful lot like...

"Q?"

There was not really a response, just a lot of shifting around and stomping on feet.

"Why are you both in _here_?"

Okay, so that was definitely Tina. Why were Quinn and Tina joining them in the closet?

Rachel's hand found hers again, somehow. "We were just... we needed a second."

"We saw you come in here," Tina quickly explained, and Santana saw, when her eyes were slowly starting to adjust to the light once more, that she was pressed up against the shelf behind her, clutching a stack of papers against her chest, "and we needed to talk to you. When you didn't come out... well, we came _in_."

Santana rolled her eyes despite the fact that none of them could see it, "Well _excuse_ us."

"Yes," Rachel added, as a matter of fact, "mental preparation was very much needed. And I had to assure Santana that we were going be absolutely perfect."

Quinn snorted, "Did it work?"

Santana shot her best friend a glare and clutched Rachel's hand tighter. "What was so important that you had to follow us into this teeny tiny closet, you two _idiotas_?" she spat. Seriously, why the need to talk to them right this instant? If she wasn't going to rip them into shreds, they better have a good reason for needing them right now. As if they didn't have enough to figure out!

The blonde head-cheerleader shifted slightly on her feet, but met the Latina with a fierce glare. "It's about this blog thing, there's been... new developments." she whispered, her gaze shifting to Rachel at the end, and giving her a soft look.

The diva immediately looked concerned, "What? What's happened, Quinn?"

Quinn's eyes turned to Tina, who looked like she wanted to be anywhere else than in this closet right this moment. But the Asian girl shot Rachel an apologetic look and wetted her lips. "I'm sorry Rach, but... these were put up all over the school this morning." she was still clutching the papers to her chest, and Santana felt Rachel stiffen next to her. Herself, she had a very bad feeling about _what_ 'these' might be. "Quinn used the Glee phone chain that you made for us and – and we all came early to gather them in." she paused and reluctantly reached for one of the papers, "I'm hoping we got all of them..."

Santana felt her eyes turn absolutely wide when Tina turned the picture over and she saw what she absolutely did not want to see; there, on that flyer, was Rachel, looking into the camera with nothing but her pink running shorts on. Her hands were on her hips, her hair was tangled in a mess, and she was glaring at the photographer with a mix of anger, amusement and love. Santana swallowed, and before she could even comment on it, Rachel had buried her face in the crook of her neck.

"Put that away!" the Latina spat, angrily brushing Tina's hand away, before she wrapped her arms tightly around her girlfriend, who had already started hiccuping loudly. Something wet was brushing against her skin, and it didn't take much to realise that she was crying. _Of course _she was crying. Who wouldn't? Santana softly rubbed the singer's back. "Tiny... stop crying please... you heard what Tina said, they took the flyers away, right? All of our friends made sure that no one would see them." she softly whispered, very much aware of the fact that they had an audience, and though she usually wouldn't be so soft in front of others, right now it really was more about Rachel than it was about her.

Pulling away slightly, Rachel pouted up at her. "But- but- but! Whoever made them still has your _phone_!" she argued, big, wet tears rolling down her cheeks, "They made flyers once, they'll do it again. Everyone's going to see my breasts!"

Santana reached up and wiped her cheeks off with the back of her hand. "And what's so bad about that? You have nothing to be ashamed of!"

"That's true." Tina mumbled, and when the three other occupants of the closet turned to look at her, she shrugged and gazed at the ceiling.

The Latina continued, "You're gorgeous! Everyone's going to want to be with you. How do you think that makes _me_ feel? You're mine... your breasts are supposed to be only for me." she finished, giving the other girl a soft look. It was partly true – she really did not like to share what was hers, but at this point, she was only really saying it to get Rachel to stop crying.

_And_ to calm herself somehow. Why did it feel like her entire life was crumbling down around her? She was _finally _at a good place. After being sad about Brittany for so long, she'd finally managed to move on. She'd somehow ended up falling for Rachel Berry and that had brought with it a long list of other wonderful things. Why did this have to happen now and go and screw them over?

Couldn't she, like, catch a break someday?

Rachel sniffed and wrapped herself back into the Latina's side, "We have to find your phone though..." she trailed off, and the taller girl had a feeling that a change of subject would be really wonderful – they needed to _do_ something, otherwise Rachel's mind would be stuck on those flyers all day long.

"Yup," Santana agreed, "and I know exactly who to go to first." she glanced at Quinn then, who'd been pressed up against the door the entire time. "Let's get this show on the road. We can't stay in the closet forever... Q, lead the way."

And with those words, the four girls tumbled out of the closet, and into the hallway, that had filled up significantly since they _entered_ the closet. All of the students in the hallway turned to look at the four girls, and the second they realised who it was, whispers started spreading like wildfire down the different hallways of McKinley High. Santana heard herself swallow loudly as she stood up straight. Quinn and Tina both scrambled to get out of the spotlight, whereas Rachel stood next to Santana with an insecure look on her face. Determined to keep her promise to the other girl – no matter how many people would see – Santana reached a hand out and shot Rachel a supportive grin.

_That's right, bitches, Santana Lopez is not afraid. _

A tiny smile appeared on Rachel's face as well, and the diva sighed happily, before she reached her own hand out and clasped it with the cheerleader's. Clutching onto her tightly, Santana started down the hallway, their hands dangling between herself and Rachel. She could feel everyone's gazes at her; some were harsh, some were not, and her heart was thudding with the realisation that maybe not _everyone_ was going to hate her for it. Some might even like her for it.

They passed a group of Cheerios, and while the other students were sort of continuing on with their day, haven seen the two girls, the cheerleaders looked far from ready to let this go. Santana came to a halt in front of them, effectively stopping Rachel as well.

"Ya' got something to say to me?" she asked them, as her eyes went over the group, from one girl to the next.

A freshman girl looked absolutely mortified, while one of the seniors huffed loudly. "Are you really dating that_ thing_? Come on Lopez, if you gotta be a lez, at least choose another girl."

Santana raised an eyebrow; she might be a year younger than this girl, and therefore she should be lower in the food chain, but she was _not_ afraid of her. And no one talked about her girlfriend like that – especially not being aware that she was her girlfriend and with said girlfriend right there! Taking a step closer, the Latina pressed the other girl against her locker; she might as well make a show of it: If anyone had thought they'd be able to get away with saying those things, well, they'd think differently now. "Hey!" she firmly said, "_Don't_ talk about her like that. Rachel's my girl, and you better treat her right and forget all of those insults, because you won't be needing them anymore."

She cockily replied back, "And what are you gonna do about it, S? I'm a senior. _You're_ a junior."

"Don't test me, alright? You _don't _wanna know what I can do to you." she pressed her nose all the way into her face, faintly aware that Rachel was telling her to 'please stop it' and saying that 'it's okay'. Like hell it is! "I might just be a junior, but I knocked Quinn off her pedestal, and she was the head-cheerleader. Imagine... what I can do to _you_."

With those words, she turned around on her heel, her ponytail whooshing in the air as she turned. She shot Rachel another grin, and pulled her closer as they continued down the hall, still very much the centre of everyone's attention. It was okay though, because she just showed them all that she didn't fear 'em.

Rachel's hand was clammy in hers, but the diva still clung on tighter, "You didn't have to do that, Baby." she murmured, bending her head to shield herself from all the eyes on her.

Santana shrugged her shoulders. _Yes I fucking did. _"Nah, probably not... But they can't talk to you like that, Tiny! It's about time someone did something about it."

Rachel stared up at her with complete love in her eyes. "Well, I was used to it. But thank you."

The Latina grinned goofily. "I swear Rach, I'm gonna find my phone and I'll fucking maim whoever did this to you, to us. I'm gonna make sure that no one sees those fucking pictures of you, I swear, I do. _Te lo juro_." she hissed. She could hear that she was getting worked up, but damn, just the idea of Rachel being exposed like that.. it hurt her heart, it really did. And she knew that even though there was absolutely _nothing_ wrong with the way that the diva looked, the students at McKinley High would most definitely find something. And she could not let that happen, because it'd absolutely break Rachel down in a way that no insults or slushies could do.

"I believe you." Rachel whispered as they turned down the hallway towards her locker.

Santana couldn't hide her grin when she saw who was waiting right in front of it, his hands tucked deeply into his pockets and a dopey look across his face. Yes, suckers, Finn Hudson was walking straight into her claws. Ripping her hand out of Rachel's, the Latina sped up and strove down the hallway only to come to a halt in front of him and plant a hard shove to his arm. "Give me my phone back, asshole!"

Finn's eyes went wide. "What?"

Rolling her eyes, Santana wanted to spell it out for him, "My. cell. pone. mo. ron."

He just kept looking at her with this really stupid expression on his face, and the Latina had just about had enough of him at this point. She couldn't really explain why, but there was just something about Finn Hudson that really pissed her off. And especially lately. And it _wasn't_ because he wanted to sex her girlfriend up, he was just, well, dumb. 'Nough said.

"Do I need to give it to you in writing as well?" Santana hissed, throwing her arms into the air, as Rachel took a spot between them, glancing from the fuming Latina, to the goofy giant. "Finn, I realise that you're not over Rachel, and I get that, I really do, because she's one helluva girlfriend, but seriously. To steal my phone? That's just such a douche-baggy thing to do!"

It seemed like a light went on inside Finn's usually empty head at this point, but before he managed to open his mouth to reply, Rachel had opened hers to interfere. "Hold on a second, Baby," she mumbled, placing a calming hand on Santana's arm, "you think _Finn_ stole your phone?"

Santana just stared at her. Well, wasn't she being obvious about that?

A tiny chuckle escaped Rachel's lips then. "Don't you realise how utterly ridiculous this is, Santana? Why would Finn steal your phone?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Santana felt her resolution dissolve, "I don't know, okay?" she whined, placing both hands on her hips, "To get back at me for taking you?"

"Stop right there." Rachel firmly said, holding up a finger, and _oh-oh,_ she really meant _business_. "You did not take me, I am not an object, and therefore can't be _taken_. But if we do linger around that expression for a while, I must inform you that _really_ – I was the one who took you!"

Opening her mouth to reply right back to her girlfriend, Santana caught herself before she made an even bigger mess. That was sort of true, really. She – she didn't take Rachel. She hadn't wanted to give in; Rachel had been the one to keep pushing her to admit it to herself and stuff. So even if the Latina had been the one serenading the other girl, it was really Rachel who claimed her at first. A sheepish grin came upon her face then and she dropped her hands to hang limply by her side. "Uh. Oh _yeah_."

"So eloquent..." Rachel murmured to herself, before she turned slightly to the side to offer Finn a bright smile (Santana knew that coming out wouldn't be a huge problem for Rachel, but seriously... she seemed almost happy about this, except for, of course, the uh, pictures...). "And Finn! I will apologise profusely on Santana's behalf. None of us ever thought you were the one to steal her phone. In fact, I heard that you participated with the rest of the Glee Club this morning to help save what little reputation I possess. So thank you."

Finn scratched his face and Santana coughed into her sleeve. "Uhm... yeah..." he trailed off, blinking, "No problem."

Rachel moved over to open her locker, gently pushing Finn away. "I can only presume that you wanted to talk to me about something, since you were hovering about my locker." she told him then, as she carefully chose out the correct books in the very organized pile she'd made in there. The big 'Santana' sign hung brightly above their picture, and Santana couldn't hide her smile. "Am I correct?"

"Yeah uhm..." Finn trailed off, shifting uncomfortably on his giant feet, and Santana leaned against the closed locker next to Rachel's and watched him in amusement. "I actually just... I wanted to see both of you, 'cuz – 'cuz I wanted to say that you guys, you have my blessing, not that you uhm... not that you _need_ it."

The diva paused her movement next to Santana and stared up a Finn, wonder written in her brown eyes. The Latina herself could feel something akin of happiness float into her belly, and even though Finn didn't mean anything to her, it was somehow a huge relief to get this – whatever it had been – settled. She wouldn't have to worry about him and his giant hands roaming after her girlfriend, and it was so nice to know that. She gave his arm a friendly pad.

He grinned goofily down at Rachel, who had legit tears of happiness in the corners of her eyes. "I saw the video of you two..." he trailed off, turning a sideways grin in Santana's direction, "I didn't believe you were good enough for her, Santana, but that video – I just showed me that you are. I can see that you really love her."

Santana couldn't help herself – she reached a hand out and gently grabbed Rachel's in it. "I do." she whispered.

Finn nodded, "Yeah and! And even though I still wish that I could be with you, Rach, I won't... _do_... anything. Because I'm not going to ruin this for you."

Brushing the tears away from her cheeks, Rachel dropped Santana's hand and stepped up to quickly wrap her arms around Finn's stomach to hug him tightly for a second or two. Pulling back, she smiled up at him. "_Thank you_." she whispered, gently pecking his cheek.

Stuffing his hands into his pockets again, Finn continued, "And just so you guys know – I'm really sorry about all of this, and uh, and we've got your back... all of us in Glee." he nodded his head to himself, as if he was really agreeing with what he was saying, "No one messes with one of us without messing with all of us. If someone gives you crap about it... just use the phone chain and we'll be there."

Rachel couldn't stop grinning as he turned around a shuffled down the hallway again. There were still people in the hallway, listening to their conversation, murmuring to each other, but it seemed like the diva really didn't care. She just grabbed her things out of her locker and pecked Santana's lips.

"I can't believe that..." Santana whispered. She'd been adamant about kicking some giant ass, and she'd somehow ended up with a protector and a friend. And though she'd been looking forward to another brawl with Finnocence, the other option was fucking awesome, too. "I can't believe he's really okay with us."

The small brunette stared up at her with flickering eyes. "I can believe that. I always knew he'd pull through in the end..." she trailed off as she closed her locker and intertwined her fingers with the cheerleader's once more. "You know what I can't believe?" she questioned, as they made their way down the hallway.

Santana shrugged her shoulders and told herself to ignore all of the stares. "What?"

"That people are finally using my phone chain!"

**x**

Lunch in the cafeteria was a fucking disaster.

Apparently, their friends hadn't managed to gather in all of those flyers, because sometime between first period and lunch period, more had been spread around the hallways, and Rachel spent her lunch break hiding in the choir room with Brittany and Tina by her side. She'd been mortified when she'd walked down the hallway only to find people snickering at her, and when she arrived at her locker, a flyer had been stuck to the door. She'd then clutched her books to her chest and run down the hallway in tears.

Puck, Mike, Sam, Finn and Santana all handed out threats and punches during lunch, but apparently it was easier thought than done. Santana was furious! She'd really hoped that Rachel would be spared the humiliation of 'naked pictures', but apparently – the person who'd done this? Yes, that person was very adamant about making sure that they destroyed both of them. They tried getting information out of basically everyone they thought would know something, but Jewfro was mysteriously absent (Santana just hated the fact that he was smart enough to stay home – he'd _known_ she'd kick his ass), so no one really knew anything. Not even Puck and his giant muscles could get them to talk.

Since they weren't very successful about that, Santana told the guys she'd go talk to Rachel while they did damage control. Mercedes, Quinn, Artie and Lauren had already been gathering in flyers, and Santana smiled to herself at the thought. She didn't really know how it happened, but sometime after she and Rachel got together, the club really stepped up and decided to _be there_ for each other. It was freaking her out in the some way, because they never used to, but damn it was nice, when you were getting shit thrown at you!

She still had to find that damn phone though. Even if all of their friends were doing everything they could to help them, she had to find her phone. Once it was gathered in and all evidence was back in her possession, could they really start to move on from the way they were exposed to the fact that they _were_ even exposed. Maybe people weren't so worked up about the fact that they were together, but more worked up over the fact that these news were so big that it was just a giant surprise to everybody?

Maybe things wouldn't have been so messed up if they'd just come out on their own time and gently eased into it with hand-holding and cheek-kisses.. now their affair was everyone's business, and it was evident to the student body that their relationship was far from recent and much more than just holding hands. Santana just hoped that it'd all quiet down eventually... eventually being sooner rather than later.

But that fucking phone! How would she even go about it? There were two possible suspects left, and both of them were evil enough to do it. Heck, she'd even have done it herself if she'd found a phone with golden material like that. But damnit! It was either Sue Sylvester or Jennifer Connelly. How was she going to find out who, and when she did, how was she going to prove it and get her phone back? It'd take some serious scheming on her part...

Sighing heavily, Santana shot a dirty look at one of the hockey players, who thought it was fun to make kissing faces at her. She took an intimidating step in his direction and he slammed his locker shut and ran down the hallway like a pussy. Chuckling to herself, Santana turned on her heel – only to come face to face with Coach Sylvester. What is it they say? When you speak of the devil...

"S." Sue mumbled, shooting her a dirty grin. She had a piece of paper clutched between her claws, and Santana was afraid to know what was going to happen next.

The Latina gave her a short nod, "Coach Sylvester."

The older woman licked her lips, "You weren't at Cheerios practice this morning, S. I can't say I'm not disappointed. I thought you wanted to move further up the pyramid, but I guess not."

Santana rolled her eyes. Why the fuck didn't she just get to the point sometime today? "Yeah... I had to deal with some things." she said to her, crossed her arms across her chest, and tried to look generally awesome. She was sizing the other woman up. Was she simply putting on a show by _pretending_ she didn't know what was going on while being the woman behind it all, or was she really not informed of the newest gossip at McKinley High?

"This was posted on the door into my office," Sue continued then as she folded out the paper, her evil-eyes focused entirely on the girl as she did so. Turning the paper over, Santana saw that it – thankfully – wasn't the picture of Rachel's naked chest, but a picture of the two of them, snuggled beneath the sheets of Rachel's bed, their hair mussed, and happy smiles on their faces. "with a note that said to check out Jewfro's lame blog. I don't really listen to gossip, S. But it appears on this picture as if you're in fact in _love_-" she cringed at the word, "-with that Streisand wannabe. I thought that a good cheerleader would have given me a heads-up about something like that."

Santana shifted nervously on her feet. She hadn't even thought about how this would effect her spot on the Cheerios. She'd always thought that she wouldn't be kicked off completely, but now that she was actually in the situation... she wasn't too sure about Sue Sylvester. "Didn't think it was important, Coach." she heard herself squeak.

Sue stared down at her from above. "My office tomorrow, Lopez. Seven thirty."

With those words, she passed Santana and made her way down the hallway again, furiously frightening three freshmen girls with an angry growl. Santana shut her eyes for a second, to let the news sink in, while she told her heart to stop beating so madly. That wasn't an end right there. Tomorrow could go either way if she managed to convince Coach Sylvester that she wasn't expendable. She'd just have to figure out what to say to her to make sure things went her way.

Turning her wrist over, Santana checked her watch and set towards the choir room. Rachel was probably still freaking out a lot, and Santana would skip her next class – psh, it was just Science after all – to console her girlfriend. She wasn't even sure if Rachel would be brave enough to face anyone. She'd have to talk to her about that though... there was nothing to be afraid of! She just wasn't sure if Rachel understood that completely...

Ducking into the choir room, she found Brittany with an arm around Rachel, whose cheeks were flaming red. Tina was sitting by the piano – she looked close to tears, and with one look at Santana in the doorway, the Asian girl shot out of her seat, grabbed her bag and hurried out of there. Santana chuckled as she closed the door behind her. "You scare her off, Tiny?"

Rachel's lower lip trembled dangerously, and she reached her arms out for Santana to step into. The Latina crossed the floor hurriedly and took a seat next to her girlfriend, huddling herself into her embrace; Rachel's arms were tight and strong around her. It seemed as if she was trying to squeeze her to death – Santana didn't complain though; Rachel's hugs were always amazing, and she had a feeling that the diva really needed to do it right now.

Brittany shot Santana a supportive smile above Rachel's shoulder, "Rach was just really, really angry, S. And then she started crying, and then she was angry some more. And then she was really, really angry again, so she started walking around in circles, like this," she raised a hand to move her pointer-finger around in a little circle in the air, to get her point across, "and it was all very, very, _very_ scary, so Tina started crying too, and I think she's really afraid of Rach!"

Santana bid back her chuckle; under normal circumstances Rachel would have been giggling too after Brittany's story, but everything was just really messed up right now. "Sounds awful, B." she mumbled, before she pulled out of Rachel's arms and gazed into her girlfriend's bloodshot eyes. "Hey..." she gently whispered, letting her hand linger on the singer's cheek, "Don't cry anymore, Babe. Q and the others are totally handling this."

Rachel swallowed thickly and sniffed. "Still doesn't change the fact that those flyers were all over the school!" she whined, "Everyone's seen my breasts – _everyone_!"

Santana shrugged, "And so what? It's no big deal!"

"No big deal!" Rachel huffed, shooting the Latina a dirty look. "Maybe not to _you_! Practically everyone at this school's already seen your breasts! But to me, Santana? To me it's a _huge_ deal!" she fired off, shooting out of her seat to stand next to the piano, with her fists curled at her side and her shoulders trembling.

Raising an eyebrow, Santana stood up, too. She thought that she should be offended to be talked to like that – what the _hell_ wasn't it that Rachel was _saying_ about her? - but she knew it was the truth; a lot of people had already been there. Didn't change the fact that it hurt hearing Rachel say those things; she'd never thought they'd come out of _that_ mouth. But was this really the time to get into an argument like this? Santana took a step closer, "Tiny," she firmly said, reaching her hands out to gently take Rachel's inside her own, "you need to calm down, okay? Listen to what you're saying, because I never thought you'd say those things to me. It doesn't seem like it's really you, and you're scaring B, and you already scared Tina the fuck out of here."

Rachel bit her lip and took in a deep breath; Santana could tell that she was trying to calm herself down some. And she closed her eyes for a few seconds, while the Latina rubbed two soothing thumbs against her hands, trying to convey that everything was going to work out, that those pictures weren't the end of the world.

"You good?" she mumbled, when Rachel's chocolate orbs shot open again with a flicker.

The diva nodded, a tiny smile on her lips. "I'm sorry. I can't believe I said those things to you. Can you ever forgive me?"

Santana chuckled. "This is really not what we're focusing on right now, Rach..." she trailed off, and even though she did forgive the other girl, she couldn't help but wonder if those were the things that Rachel _really_ thought about her. She wasn't going to get into that though, it was dangerous territory. "The flyers are gone, but I still need my phone so the person responsible won't make any more of them."

Brittany nodded eagerly and joined them by the piano. "That's super smart, San. I think I know who did it."

Rachel cocked an eyebrow, "Who?"

"It's Jennifer, of course. From the Cheerios." Brittany whispered, leaning slightly into Rachel with an adorable look on her face. "She's super bitchy, and she's really jealous of S. Plus, she just never seems to like you, Rach, for some reason I just really, really don't get." she shrugged her shoulders. "But I bet it's her."

Turning to meet Santana's eyes, Rachel's grin swooped to the side, "It is?"

Santana breathed in deeply and shrugged. "I can't be sure, she's is a fucking idiot though."

Rachel took a step back and let Santana's arms drop, "How do we confront her?"

"That's the thing," Santana continued, biting her lip, "we can't do it." she took a step to the side and leaned against the piano. It was so fucking annoying that Jennifer was so cocky and full of herself; no matter what Santana did or said to her – she wouldn't be intimidated into admitting that she took her phone; it was going to be a helluva lot more difficult than that. "She's not afraid of me, I can't just _make_ her give it back."

The diva hung her head, "Oh... okay."

The Latina drummed her fingers against the piano, "I have a meeting with Coach Sylvester tomorrow. Hopefully that will eliminate her, thus leaving only Jennifer. After that..." she trailed off, giving her girlfriend and her childhood friend an evil look, "We're going to have to figure out a way to make her give it back... we need those fucking pictures back in our own possession!"

"Couldn't agree more." Rachel determinedly said, stomping her foot into the ground for good measure. Turning her head to the side, her eyes widened when she realised what time it was. "Oh holy Streisand! It's already well into my French class. I've never missed school before..." her eyes widened as she turned to Santana in panic, "But how do I get out there, knowing..." trailing off, she didn't finish the last of her sentence. She didn't have to though, Santana knew what she meant.

"Tiny," she firmly said, locking their eyes together so she'd really get her point across, "I'm going to stay this to you again, and please don't take it the wrong way, but – it's no fucking big deal! You have nice tits, okay? You have one fucking banging body!" she continued to say, and Rachel's eyes widened by the words (she'd know though, right? She was her _girlfriend_; she was the one who had _access_ to that banging body whenever she wanted!), "So just – just do the right thing. Ignore them, shrug it off and remind yourself that you're so much better than them. If you show them that their comments aren't hitting home, they'll stop saying them all together."

Rachel swallowed loudly as her eyes fell to the floor. She was quiet for a few seconds, and Brittany gave Santana a worried glance (yes, it was very unlike the diva to be this quiet), but eventually she looked up again. "You're right, I suppose..." she whispered, "It's just hard."

The Latina chuckled to herself. "You'll just have to fire something back at them – bring out that inner badass that I _know_ you are!"

Rachel couldn't hide the small grin she got at that idea, "That wouldn't be too horrible, I reckon."

"You can totally be super badass, Rach!" Brittany cheered, clapping her hands together in delight.

The diva shot the blonde cheerleader a warm smile and turned to put her arm around her waist. "We should really get to class now, though." she firmly told the two other girls, and Santana groaned, but followed her out of the room nonetheless. Brittany was happily bouncing next to Rachel, barely noticing what was going on (if she had, she'd so have suggested they skip class to just hang in the choir room). The brunette seemed a bit more happier than she'd been earlier, and pretty determined not to take any crap.

Santana was proud of her.

Rachel's determination was tested seconds later when they turned the corner, only to come face to face with Azimio, who – apparently – had this lunch hour. He shot the three of them an evil look, and wriggled his eyebrows in Rachel's direction. "Great rack, Berry!" he whistled, as he moved to pass them.

The Latina was about to open her mouth to give him a piece of her mind, but Rachel was quicker; and not even in a way one would have thought – she didn't slap him or something like that. No, she simply opened her mouth, and with a serious look, said, "Not as great as _yours_, Azimio!" with a tough look.

The scowl on his face was priceless, and Santana couldn't help but add, "Ever thought of getting rid of those _man_-boobs?"

Brittany tried to hide her giggle behind her hand, and the boy shot them both a look, before he turned on his heel and walked down the hallway; his weight was a sore sport for him. He wasn't as fit as most of the other boys on the football team, and Santana knew from reliable sources (Puck-cough-Puck) that it really bothered him.

Turning to peck Santana lightly on the lips, Rachel whispered, "Baby, you're incorrigible!"

"No Rach," Brittany cheerily said, shaking her head as if Rachel was completely silly, "she's in _Lima_."

The pair couldn't hide their smiles, when the blonde turned on her heel and happily bounced down the hallway.

**x**

Santana skipped Glee that afternoon. She knew that Rachel did too, because she drove her home and they just stayed on the Lopez living room couch together, snuggled up with nothing to say. Santana just needed to feel her girlfriend close to her for a while, before Rachel had to leave for Ballet Class. It wasn't that they didn't want to talk to their friends – they were incredibly grateful for all they had done for them, but they just really needed to get home after the day they'd had.

The entire house was quiet; Oscar was with Abuela Lopez, her father had an evening shift, and her mother would be coming home any minute now. When it was time for Rachel to leave, the diva pushed her hair back and planted several kisses on her face, before promising that she'd be back right after.

The Latina listened to the front door close and the car drive off, before she turned over on the couch and curled herself into a ball. Being alone was probably not a good idea, because being alone meant that she allowed everything to wash over her completely. All the events of the day came flooding back in a way they hadn't before; when it had all been happening, everything went so fast that she really had no time to notice, to let it settle, but now... everything was perfectly clear to her, and it frightened Santana that even after she'd been to school and lived through the snickers and the comments, she was still afraid of what everyone was going to think.

Sure, it hadn't been so bad today. But today had been mostly about the surprise, the idea of Rachel Berry and Santana Lopez being an item, the shock of Rachel's naked chest exposed to the entire school. No one had really had time to _settle _on the fact that she was gay – a lesbian. She was certain that come tomorrow, more people would have realised what a big deal it really was, and – and then they'd _know_. They'd all know that she was gay, and that she liked girls, and what wouldn't they think, what wouldn't they say?

No one came out in Lima, it was social suicide when they did. Might as well move, for crying out loud! Was she going to have to get out of town? Or would she and Rachel have to transfer schools like Kurt? How had the boy even dealt with all of this for _all_ these years?

Biting back a sob, Santana furiously rubbed her cheeks. She refused to cry, she _refused_ to! She was Santana motherfucking Lopez, and she did not shed tears. There was no way in fucking hell. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and willed the tears to stop.

_There. That was so much better. _

The sound of the front door opening effectively pulled Santana out of her funk. Shooting up on the couch, Santana heard her mother shout that she was home. The Latina girl frantically wiped her face off again, determined not to show her mother that she'd been crying, but before she could even think too long about hiding it, her mother had entered the living room with two loaded grocery bags.

"Mija!" she said, and a frown appeared on her face as she took in Santana's appearance, "Are you crying, Bella? Why are you crying?" she dumped the bags to the floor and stepped forward, taking a seat on the couch next to Santana, who refused to meet her eyes.

She looked into the floor, "I'm not crying."

Carla Lopez reached a hand out and placed her fingers on her daughter's chin, thereby forcing her to look up. "I can see you're crying, mija. Did something happen?" a worried look flew across her features as she gasped. "Did you and Rachel have a fight?"

Shaking her head, Santana tried her hardest not to give in. She didn't want to cry, she didn't want to seem weak, but it was so fucking difficult when her mother was sitting right there, and all she wanted was to cry and tell her everything. "_No_." she murmured in Spanish, finally meeting her mother's eyes, "We didn't have a fight."

Blinking, the older woman glanced briefly at her groceries, but apparently she decided that that didn't matter. "Then tell me, Santana. Why are you upset?"

She stared at her mother for a few seconds then, contemplating whether or not she should just spill everything. She really didn't want to, but the way that her mother looked at her; with so much worry and love, it told Santana that it would be okay to talk to her about it. That her mother wouldn't judge or make fun of it – she was her _mother_ after all. Biting her lip, the cheerleader thought over her next words carefully. "It's just 'cuz... 'cuz the entire school found out about me and Rach.."

Carla shot her a sympathetic look and placed the back of her hand to the girl's cheek. "Oh sweetie..." she whispered, "You didn't want them to know yet?"

"No." Santana shook her head, "No, because it's not okay to be gay in this town. There was this boy Kurt... you remember I told you about him? He was in Glee Club with us, and he's practically Rachel's best friend..." she thought her words over as she remembered what happened to him. She was so afraid that something like that would be happening to her as well. "He had to move schools, Mamá, _schools_!"

The older Latina frowned, "Were people really that horrible to him?"

Santana nodded, "It was _awful_. By the end he was getting threatened with bodily harm everyday. No one could do anything, I'm just – I can't _handle_ it if that's the way things are gonna be." she whispered. She knew it was awful to think so, because she loved Rachel, she really did, but if it was going to be like that, she wasn't sure she was strong enough to stay with her. And that was what frightened her the most – that she was aware of this, that she knew herself well enough to _know_ this. But it wasn't something she was proud of, especially because she knew Rachel would never even dream of it. "I'm not sure I can sta-" the words died in her throat, but the Latina was pretty sure that her mother got the gist of it.

Wrapping her arms around her daughter, Carla placed a kiss to her hair and whispered, "Oh mija... I imagine that it can be hard, but if you give up... if you give up, they win."

The cheerleader broke into a throaty sob and she could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks as she cried into her mother's embrace; it was comforting and soothing, and Santana didn't care that it made her seem like a little girl.

"You need to really think about this, Santana," her mother rattled off, still very much keeping her in a tight hold, "you need to really think it over. You might not have wanted to come public with Rachel yet, but she's such a beautiful young woman, and I see how happy she makes you. You're always smiling now, always smiling..." she kissed her hair two times again, before continuing, "And it's no fun to live and not be true to yourself. You're turning eighteen soon, you're a grown-up woman, soon you'll see that it doesn't really matter. And you'll get out of this town one day, just like your siblings, and none of these people will mean a thing to you! And you have Rachel, right? And we're all here for you. I'm sure your friends are too."

Santana felt herself nod into her embrace as the words settled themselves into her brain; she wasn't quite grasping them all yet, but she was putting them in there for safe-keeping, so she could muse them over later, "All our friends in Glee are okay with us."

Carla chuckled warmly, "Have you talked to Rachel? Have you really told her how this is making you feel?" she questioned, pulling back slightly, to give her daughter a scrutinizing once-over, which made Santana feel like she was being x-rayed, "Because you're not an open book, Bella, and I think that maybe Rachel sometimes doesn't know what you're really thinking... you need to tell her, because otherwise you'll lose her someday. Honesty, mija, you need honesty."

Santana had tried being honest with Rachel, and when she was... she was always reduced to a bawling mess, and she hated being weak, she _loathed_ it! Just thinking about it... Goddamnit! It made her cry all over again.

"Honey..." Carla whispered, using her thumb to wipe away a few tears while Santana looked towards the ceiling in an attempt to not deal with anything, "You have a lot of feelings."

Swallowing loudly, Santana let another fresh batch of tears run freely, "Yeah! And I don't know how to stop crying because everything's just so messed up! And I don't wanna lose Rachel, but I don't wanna be that lesbian girl either, and I just wish that we could be together and that it could be okay, but people are always in each other's business, and we'll never be able to walk down the halls together, holding hands, without getting slushied or called names or-or-" she didn't know what she was going to say, she just sat there, breathing out heavily as she stared at her mother and tried to control the tears in her eyes, and the pain in her chest. But nothing could stop it, nothing. Just thinking about everything, it made her heart hurt, it really did.

Carla sighed and patted her thigh carefully. "Santana, baby, I understand your fears, but you need to think about this, okay? It seems to me that you're afraid of what all your peers might think.." she shrugged her shoulders and gave her daughter a soft look, "But then you should ask yourself – are they really that important? Do they matter? Is popularity really that necessary? Because it seems to me that if you have Rachel..." she paused for a second, to let her words sink into Santana's mind, "Then you'll be _fine_."

Santana stared at her mother then, as she thought her words over. She'd never really thought that much about it – well, she sort of had, but, but it'd never been put out like that to her. Hearing those words come from her mother's mouth really did something strange to the pain in her chest. Mind you, it was still very much there, but for some reason... well, it was a little more bearable. And maybe she was right- maybe she could deal with everything if she just had Rachel. That tiny … beautiful... incredible... loving... spitfire of a person. She really did seem to make things better for her.

"You should get some sleep, mija." Carla whispered, placing a soft kiss to Santana's head, before standing up to get her groceries into the kitchen.

Santana let herself slide into the couch again, her front tucked comfortingly against the back of it, as she closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. She was so happy that she'd had this breakdown in front of her mom and not Rachel. If Rachel had been present, she was pretty sure that the diva would have taken it in the wrong way entirely, and maybe they wouldn't have pulled through. She loved Rachel, she did – with all of her heart, in a way that teenagers can when it's beyond puppy-love and silly school yard crushes. This with Rachel was so much more than that, and Santana felt more certain now, that they would get through this.

They could handle this, they _could_.

Adjusting slightly on the couch, Santana Lopez fell into a comforting sleep.

* * *

_I am so fucking sorry about the delay! It's been entirely TOO LONG since I updated, and I apologise profusely. My only excuse is that life has been hectic lately; I've been working when I haven't been at school because I'm taking driver's lessons and it's fucking expensive. So yeah. I know that's not a good reason not to update, but fuck... it's all I've got._

_With that being said, I really hope that you enjoyed this chapter; it was hard for me to write in some way, because there's so many reactions that I need to focus on, and so many things that will happen to them at school and in their relationship because of what they're going through. So I'll be dedicating a few chapters to that until everything settles down. Next one will most definitely have one Sue Sylvester in it a bit more ;-) _

_I thank you deeply for the reviews for the last chapter! I know that a lot of you were worried about the girls – and especially Santana – and for good reason. I mean, we saw on the show how much popularity means to her, and how afraid she is of being true to herself, and it's even worse for the Santana in my story – I think – because she's still got a lot to hold onto; she's still a Cheerio after all, so she's still a lot more popular. I hope you weren't too disappointed by the drama I created so far. You guys were also worried that the pictures of Rachel would surface on the blog, but I decided to do it this way, because posting them online would lead to a hole lot of legal crap that I didn't want to get into. And yeah... they play an important part in this chapter, but really, it's not something I'm going to get into **a lot**. _

_Please give me your thoughts on this chapter – I love hearing what you think ;-) _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or RENT. _


	19. A Tiger in a Cage

**Chapter Nineteen **

**A Tiger in a Cage **

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you, S?" Quinn questioned, eyeing the door into Hell, as they were huddled against the other wall, impatiently waiting for Sue Sylvester to move her ass out of her office and summon Santana in for what was probably going to be her damnation.

Santana swallowed hard and shook her head. Her hand was tugged in Rachel's smaller one, and the mere presences of her girlfriend and two best friends did a lot to calm her, even though she felt more nervous than before she had to perform _Valerie _at Sectionals.

The little diva scooted a wee bit closer. "You want me to come with you, Baby? I'll tell her a thing or two! I told you about my plan remember?" she softly questioned, blinking up at the Latina with honest eyes.

Pressing her lips to her forehead, Santana replied, "I remember your plan, Tiny, it was good, but I think we'll only have to use that in case everything goes wrong."

Quinn huffed and leered at Rachel, while Brittany seemed eager to know more, "She made a plan?"

Rachel gazed at the taller blonde and offered her a kind smile, "It's an outstanding plan, if I must say so myself, and you know I must! It explains in great detail how we'll make sure that Santana stays on the Cheerios, because if not, the ACLU will quickly be contacted – _and I know some people!_ – to make sure that that sort of discrimination does not happen again! Mr. Schuester is also on standby, so if needed, he'll come save the day and try to reason with Coach Sylvester. I even informed him that if an expulsion were to happen, Principal Figgens would quickly be notified."

Santana grinned wickedly at the looks on her two friends' faces when Rachel finished her rant and her entire plan was crystal clear; that girl never left anything at risk, and with the Latina's own fierceness, she was pretty confident that she could convince Coach Sylvester to let her stay on the squad. If she seemed hesitant, Santana was going to whip out the ACLU card and not even Sue Sylvester could get out of that one.

"And what did you name _this_ plan, Tiny?" the Latina chuckled, pressing a lingering kiss to her temple.

The little brunette beamed up at her, "I named it _Save Sexy Santana from Sue Sylvester's Snarky Snarls_! I think you already know that I adore alliteration, so the many S's seemed to fit."

Brittany stared at Rachel with a truly confused expression and thereafter said, "Rachel! You're being silly again! First off," she mumbled, holding up a finger, "there are no baby cats here. And second off," she held up her next finger with a short nod, "there's only one S! Not _many_ of her – one is enough for us!" she laughed, pulling Santana in for a tight hug.

When the Latina managed to free herself from the ditzy cheerleader's strong arms, she saw Quinn chuckling behind her, and Rachel with a very mortified – and confused – expression. The diva really had a lot to learn about speaking Brittany, and she was in for a hard time, because it had taken Santana _years_ to perfect the language. That put aside though, she really hoped that they wouldn't have to use Rachel's plan against Coach Sylvester. Sure, if the need should arise, was she hard to reason with, they'd have to, because there was no way in hell that Santana was going to leave the squad. It was her ticket out of this hell-hole; her grades sure as fuck weren't good enough to get her into a good school out of state – all their national and international wins were going to bring her there. Wherever there was.

_Preferably _New York City, New York.

"If you use all those threats against her," Quinn started, giving Santana a stern look, because she was warning her, "she's going to make it hell for you. Are you sure you'd even want to stay on the Cheerios then? You'll be beat down and broken by the end of each practice."

Santana swallowed loudly; she knew all of this. Sue Sylvester didn't let anyone walk all over her, which was why the Latina hoped she'd be able to reason with her and _not_ pull out the ACLU card. "I _have_ to stay on the squad." she mumbled, sending a soft look in Rachel's direction as she squeezed her hand tighter. "It's the only way I can get out of here."

The HBIC gave her a soft nod in understanding, and Rachel turned to Santana, a small smile gracing her lips. "You wanna get out of here?" she questioned, her big eyes wide with wonder at this new information; it was never anything they discussed, the future, mostly because Santana was afraid of doing so. It seemed so final, so settled, to begin discussing that with one another. All she had been comfortable thinking to herself was that they would have each other until graduation next year and then split due to college. But now... now she didn't actually have such a hard time picturing Rachel in her life _after_ high school, too. As in... she really wouldn't mind it if she stayed a part of it.

Santana brushed a piece of Rachel's brown hair out of her face, and saw out of the corner of her eye, that Quinn grabbed Brittany by the arm and led the ditzy blonde a few feet down the hallway to give them some privacy. The hallways were still rather empty, since the students who were already at school, were doing extra-curricular activities and the morning rush would only start a good fifteen minutes before class. The Latina offered her girlfriend a lopsided grin and appreciated the unusual silence. "Well... _yeah_." she mumbled, shrugging her shoulder, "I do wanna get out of here. No one stays here because they _want_ to. Cheerios is the only real shot I have at it."

Rachel nodded for a few seconds, as she let the news sink in. The look on her face was thoughtful, and Santana really wished that she was able to crack her head open and see what went on in there during moments like these. "But..." the diva trailed off, shifting a little on her feet, "What do you have planned for yourself? What do you want to do in your future?"

Something akin of hope floated in those chocolate pools and Santana felt her own chest swell with happiness, because if she read Rachel's look correctly – and let's face it, she was quite adapt at reading those looks by now – it seemed like the other girl hoped for something for them in the future as well. And she'd been thinking along these lines for a while now; imagining what it would be like for them, together, and it wasn't such a horrible picture at all. It actually seemed fucking awesome. And she had ideas, man. "I was thinking," she begun, licking her lips quickly, as her heart thudded madly in her chest, because this was the first time she was going to reveal her plans to anybody, and Rachel was the most important one of _them all_, "that... that I really want to become a police officer. Get my anger out in a way that helps the people, and I know I can only apply to the academy in New York when I'm 21, so I'd probably study something first.. if I get a scholarship that is."

The small brunette just stood there then, looking at her with a blank expression across her face, and Santana was worried that she'd something completely wrong. Presumed something she shouldn't have. Didn't Rachel want her to be a part of her experience in New York? Was she really just a high school fling to her – something to write about in the memoirs she'd undoubtedly get published in the future?

Santana bit her lip and she could feel her shoulders tense, "I'm – I'm sorry, Rach... I know we didn't really talk about it, I just hoped that maybe-" she cut herself off and took in a deep breath. They'd never promised each other anything, so she shouldn't be so affected by the thought that Rachel only wanted her in _Lima_, "That was stupid of me, to- to presume that we could be together after high school. I'm sorry if I freaked you out, I-"

Rachel lounged forward then, cutting her off with a firm hand on her mouth and a shit-eating grin on her face. She was practically bouncing on her heels when her free hand squeezed into Santana's shoulder and she replied, "No! No you didn't freak me out, Baby, I was just..." she bit her lip and beamed at her even more. It wasn't often she was left tongue-tied, but apparently she found words very difficult right now. "I was just imaging you in a uniform and... _hot_." she breathed out.

Santana chuckled behind the hand as a warm feeling spread from her chest to her fingers and toes. _We're going to be okay. _

"I'd absolutely love it if you decided to come to New York with me." she whispered, before she slipped her hand off the cheerleader's mouth and tip-toed up, pressing her lips to Santana's in a deep kiss. The Latina responded for a second or two, before a deep cough interrupted them, and the two girls pulled apart.

Turning around, Santana saw that her coach was staring at her from across the hallway. "Coach Sylvester."

"S," Sue began, striding across the floor in two long steps, "Barbra Streisand." she gave Rachel a short nod, "I don't care much for the public displays of affection. I'll see you in my office now."

Rachel gave Santana a little puff to nudge her forward, as the Latina tried to calm herself. She followed in Sue's footsteps, and even though she was not religious, she sent a tiny prayer up there, because the future she'd just shared with Rachel? She simply _had_ to have that. Which meant that this conversation would have to go well.

Sue sat down in her office chair, and motioned for Santana to take a seat as well. She'd been sitting in this exact chair so many times (even when she'd still tried to ruin Glee Club and was asked to smell her armpits), but it had never felt as it did right now. She heaved out a deep breath, folded her hands in her lap and prepared herself to fight.

"Santana," Sue said, slowly sliding the flyer from yesterday across the desk so it lay neatly in front of the young girl, "I come to my office yesterday and find this plastered to my door. I was asked to check out that _nerd_ Jewfro's blog on the computers. I did not. I don't listen to gossip at all, Lopez. I only care about it when I'm spreading it, and let's face it, when I spread it, do I need to listen to it?" she shook her head. "The answer to that is _no_."

The Latina nodded faintly.

Leaning back again and leaving the flyer be, Sue blinked at Santana, "So I gather that you've decided to become a lesbian."

"No Coach, I haven't really _decided_-"

"Such a decision can have consequences, S." Sue continued, without listening at all, "It undoubtedly will have consequences. It's hard to stand out in a town like this, unless it's for being awesome – like me – and I think that you should think real hard about that. You still have time to play all of this out like a huge prank on Idina Menzel out there." she nodded towards the doorway, where Rachel was most likely hovering right outside, listening into their conversation in secret, with Quinn and Brittany by her side.

Santana gave her coach a funny look. Was she out of her mind – as in, more than usually? The Latina shook her head, "I didn't decide to become a lesbian, Coach, I happen to be one. And I fell in love with Rachel, it's no joke."

Sue blinked at her again and sighed heavily, as if she was particularly displeased about these turn of events. "I'm just saying it's hard to be different, I know that first-hand. I've always liked you, S, you remind me of myself when I was younger, except less pretty and angry."

_Of course. _

"You and Q always reminded me of myself, and you're my former head-cheerleader, even though you're currently on the bottom of the pyramid again." Sue continued to clarify, placing both elbows on the table and watching Santana with round eyes. "I should kick you off the squad for lying to me, for deceiving me and letting me trust you. And for falling in love with the little star of your little _club_."

Santana's brain tuned into overdrive and she knew that now was the time to say something about all of the things that Rachel had briefed her about at least a dozen times last night. She even had the three cheerleaders over to her house for breakfast while she made them sit through a PowerPoint presentation and two pop-quizzes. Santana felt pretty secure about the subject, while Quinn just didn't care to listen, and Brittany drew small hearts and rainbows on her paper, while answering each question with a sad smiley face.

"Coach," she butted in, and even though Sue Sylvester never let anyone butt in, Santana knew that she had to go with it, because otherwise she'd find herself off the squad within two minutes, "I must inform you that – uh, that my girlfriend has connections and that the ACLU will be contacted should you kick me off the team for being gay."

_There_. She got that out in the open. Chew on that one, Coach Sylvester, you evil woman!

The coach leaned back then, looking slightly impressed as she watched Santana carefully, "Now I should punish you for interrupting me, but I'm going to say something else instead. I admire you, S, for being true to yourself. I was a lesbian once," she smiled, nodding her head a little as Santana felt her mouth go slightly open, "back in '91. We fell madly in love, but she wasn't brave enough to go for it with me. She broke my heart and since then I've dated men exclusively. I'd never kick you off the team for being a minority, because I certainly know what it's like."

Santana could feel something weird happening in her chest, and it almost felt as if all the stress and worry about this conversation was slowly floating out of there and leaving her light and happy. She could hear Rachel's dramatic gasp in the hallway and Quinn's stern huff to keep her quiet, and suddenly it seemed like it was going to be alright; even if people in school gave her crap about it, it'd be okay, because she was still a Cheerio, so she still deserved their fucking respect.

"Thank you, Coach!" Santana replied, silently hoping for this to be over soon so she could get out of there and hug Rachel for all it was worth, "You have no idea what this means to me and Rachel."

"Yeah, I don't care so much about that." Sue replied, shaking her head, "I care about me, and my sister Dean would have never talked to me again if she thought that I didn't help you. S," she gave her a stern look and leaned in closer, Santana doing the same so their faces were bent together, "who did this to you?"

Santana was pretty sure that they could wipe Sue as a possible subject all off the table, which only really left one person on their list... a person Santana had thought it'd be from the very start. She knew it wasn't going to sit well with Sue though, because it was one Cheerio against another. "I'm pretty sure it's Jennifer, Coach."

Sue sat up straight again and seemed to think it over for a few seconds, "Connelly?"

"Yes Coach." Santana replied.

Sue was quiet then, as she mused things over, and Santana felt the need to jump out of her seat in excitement. She wanted to know what Sue was going to do about it, but man, it'd be so wonderful to press her lips to Rachel's and kiss her and know that it was fine, that everything was _good_. She hoped that Sue would kick Jennifer off the squad and effectively rid Santana from her mere presence, but there was no proof, and not even Sue could swing that one without any complaints – especially not when Jennifer was the best flyer; right after Santana herself, of course.

Breathing out heavily, Sue had come to a conclusion, "S," she firmly said, letting the Latina know that it was time for business, "I could kick Connelly off the team, because I do not want traitors in my corner, but that'd raise a lot of questions that I'm not sure my lawyers are prepared to deal with after the last episode I had regarding one Olivia Newton-John." she paused briefly, "But I will allow you – I will actually applaud you – to do something about this yourself and give that bitch something in return. I haven't cared much for her attitude lately, and once everything's done and out in the open, you have my permission to get Q to kick her off the team and promote you to second-in-command. I assume she will be with you every step of the way."

Santana could hardly fight the grin that covered her entire face then, at the idea of giving Jennifer a piece of her mind. There were so very many things she wanted to do to her, but they had to thread carefully, because they needed proof, and they needed to _humiliate_ her in the way that she'd wanted to humiliate Santana herself and Rachel. Nothing would be good enough according to Latina, so they'd have to cook up a scheme grander than ever before, and she felt contend that the Glee Club was finally on their side – all of them – because they might need their help. Jennifer Connelly was not going to know what hit her!

Sue arched an eyebrow in her direction, "You can leave my office now, Boobs McGee."

Scrambling from her seat with wide eyes, Santana hurried outside and smacked the door close behind her. She came face to face with three sets of questionable eyes, and the hope and need in all three of them told her that these three people were the people in her world whom she could _always_ count on; stepping up to Rachel, she wrapped her arms around her and breathed in her scent.

"You're still in your uniform." Quinn mumbled, eyes tracing every inch of Santana's skin as she gave the Latina a once-over, "She didn't rip it off of you! You're still on the team, right? ..._right_?"

Santana couldn't hide her giant smile when she pulled out of Rachel's embrace and said, "I'm still on the team!"

Brittany squealed loudly and before Santana knew what was happening, she was pulled into a four-way hug by the tallest cheerleader and she was pretty sure that this was the happiest she'd been in a while. And she'd be even happier once she'd figured out how to kick Jennifer Connelly's _ass_.

**x**

The first time she saw Jennifer after everything blew up, was between second and third period. She could hear her screechy laugh from right down the hallway, and the second Santana figured it was her, she marched right down there, pushing her way through the other students, only to take the blonde bitch completely by surprise and press her into the row of lockers behind her.

"Give me my phone back, whore." she spat, looking straight into her eyes with as much hatred as she was physically able to convey. If she hadn't already gotten several warnings this year regarding violence (Quinn had been one of them; their brawl about the head-cheerleader position in the hallway was not easily forgotten), she would have so kicked her ass well into next week.

Blinking up at her with innocent eyes, Jennifer replied, "What are you talking about?"

Rolling her eyes, Santana took a step back and looked down at her, even though the other girl was at least three inches taller, "You know exactly what I'm talking about, Connelly. You fucking stole my phone and I need it back."

Jennifer shook her head. "I didn't steal your phone, Santana. Believe it or not, even though you've suddenly risen to fame around here because you like pussy, doesn't mean everything's about you. I have no interest in your fucking phone." she finished, before taking a step to the side in an attempt to get out of there.

But Santana cut her off by taking a step to the side as well and threateningly placing a hand to the locker, cutting Jennifer off from running by the use of her arm. She raised an eyebrow to the other girl and silently dared her to do something about it. "I know you took my phone, bitch, and I have every intent to take it back, and it will be accompanied by a firm ass-kicking to you. Don't for once think I'll go soft on you. You're dead meat, Connelly."

The blonde cheerleader matched Santana's glare, and the Latina thought it was pretty tough that she wasn't afraid – she had to give her that, even though it was fucking annoying right now. "You have no proof of anything, _dyke_, and you just have to face the fact that you're not the top of the heap anymore, not after hopping into RuPaul's _bed_. You know any legal terms?" she paused for the briefest of seconds, but not long enough to let Santana scold her for calling Rachel names, "There's this thing called innocent until proven otherwise. And since you can't prove otherwise – I'm _innocent_."

Santana could only glare at her back, when she pushed pass her arm and hurried down the hallway as fast as her white Cheerios sneakers would allow her. She was running with the tail between her legs, and Santana was now more certain than anything that Jennifer was the cunt who stole her phone. _But how do I get it back? How do I prove what an absolute bitch she is? _

Hammering her hand into the locker in front of her, Santana turned on her heel. If she couldn't get it out of Jennifer, maybe she could get it from the next best thing. Which just so happened to be Jacob Ben-Israel, and since she already had a thing or two she needed to discuss with him about posting private things on his fucking blog, that worked out just frigging fabulously. She turned towards the basement at the next corner and went for the abandoned _McKinley High Newsletter _editing room, where the school newspaper once used to be, before people stopped caring a god-damned thing about it. Jewfro had now sat up headquarters down there, right next to the AV Club's room, and whenever he couldn't be found anywhere else, that was where he was, uploading gossip to his fucking blog.

She barged right in there, and was pretty fucking happy that the freak had decided to be a man and come to school today, and not hide away at home like he'd done the day before. He stared up at her with wide eyes behind his tiny glasses, and she smacked the door close, stepping closer to him as she fisted her hands.

"Hello Jewfro." she murmured, casually leaning against the table where he was seated by an old computer, his ever-present camera attached to it.

He pushed his glasses onto his nose and stuttered, "He- hello Santana."

The furious Latina slammed her hand onto the table top which made the Jewish boy jump in his seat. She hadn't realised how badly she actually wanted to talk to him – she'd been too focused on Rachel and Jennifer and those frigging flyers, but right now – she could feel how badly she just wanted to kick his ass. "Listen Jewfro, and listen _good_," she harshly spat, glaring at him in a way that could get even Quinn to back down, "I don't care how many fucking hits those pictures get you and your stupid blog, you're taking them down right this instant, and I _mean_ it. You have some nerve posting private things about me and my girlfriend. There were pictures, videos, text messages. I don't want the world to know our business, and I swear to God, Ben-Israel, that if you want to see tomorrow, you better get working right now."

Jacob swallowed loudly and pushed his chair back slightly, to get her out of his personal space, "I can't do that, Santana, I would if I could, but I have a higher power working above me to get me to post it in the first place."

Santana cocked an eyebrow and leaned forward, roughly snatching him by the collar to pull him towards her level. She didn't like the fact that she was sharing the same air as him, but this shit had to be done. Whatever Jennifer had promised him, she'd make sure to do him one better if fear couldn't handle it. "I know who gave you those pictures, you nerd, and I will make your life a living hell if you don't take them down. She may have promised you something, but I'm gonna maim her too, and you know as well as I do that she won't stick up for you!"

He didn't reply to that, he just looked at her with wide eyes, without even blinking once.

She tightened her hold on his collar for a second before she threw him into the chair again, "It was Jennifer Connelly, wasn't it? I need proof, Jewfro, and you're the man to go to for that, because you actually talked to the bitch. Just say it was her, and we're good to go. Maybe I won't break your arm if you spill."

Jacob gulped loudly and reached into his pocket. Pulling out a tiny key, he reached over to his desk and fiddled with a locked drawer for a while, before he silently pulled it open. Santana held her breath – was there some kind of proof in there? She desperately hoped so, because if that was the case, she'd get to beat Jennifer up pretty damn quickly. She was disappointed somehow, when she saw what was in the drawer, but happy in another way, because Jewfro offered her a crooked smile and handed her her iPhone!

Clutching it tightly, Santana couldn't help but give him a small smile. "Jewfro, maybe I won't kick you in the nads. Are you gonna take those pictures off your website?"

"I will start removing them as soon as you leave this room." he slowly promised her.

Santana bit her lip, "Are you gonna stop spying on Rachel through her bedroom window?" she said, throwing that in there for good measure. Might as well get some other business done now that she was at it.

He looked at her with wide eyes, "She – she knows about that?"

"Subtlety is not your thing, Ben-Israel. Are you gonna stay away from her house?" Santana spat, clutching onto her iPhone with love and happiness, and already shoving away the memory that he'd given it back to her. She was back to hating his guts already.

Jacob nodded a little, but Santana had a pretty good feeling that she'd need to have this conversation with him at some point again, maybe even with Puck present, too.

The Latina stepped closer once more then and leaned down to be on eye-level with the seated boy. "I'm gonna humiliate Connelly in some way, and when I do, I'm going to need your help, Jewfro. Just think about how happy you'll make Rachel – she wants Connelly humiliated, too."

"It was Jennifer." Jacob quickly ratted out, nodding his head wildly, which caused his giant red afro to bounce up and down with eagerness, "She gave me the phone and told me to run the story. She said I'd get private pictures of Rachel Berry's naked chest, but they weren't just for me – they were for everybody. I swear, Santana, I had nothing to do with that!"

Santana believed him, because Jacob might be a lot of things – creepy and disgusting, two of them – but he wasn't evil, and he liked Rachel for some reason (Santana shuddered at the thought), so he'd never do something like that, not something that'd hurt her so much. But instead of telling him this, she hissed out, "Can I count on you, then?"

Jacob gave a short nod, "Just tell me when and I'll do it."

**x**

She'd met Rachel in the Cheerios bathroom on the third floor to quickly explain to her what had happened with Jewfro and Jennifer. Rachel was slightly appalled at all the coarse language that was present in Santana's re-telling, but she seemed generally happy that they'd come this far. She also seemed generally happy that they managed to sneak in five minutes of make-out before they had to get to Glee rehearsal.

Santana had already deleted the 'naked' picture of Rachel to avoid another incident like the other one, and they were exchanging ideas on how to get Jennifer down as they left the bathroom to head to the choir room. Now, Santana was certain that a good ass-kicking was in its place; she'd get the boys to help her and Jennifer would never do anything like this again. If they took a few pictures of the injuries and got Jewfro to post them, Jennifer would certainly get how it felt to be exposed. But Rachel wasn't so fond of that plan...

"I just don't see how kicking her _ass_ – as you so eloquently put it – will teach her a lesson, Baby..." the diva trailed off, looking up at her with a sideways smile, "Sure, it'll hurt for a while, but then she'll get even meaner. You need to humiliate her, not hurt her. Despite popular beliefs, those two things don't necessarily go together. They're very different. And in my opinion... humiliation is a lot worse than physical injury."

Santana thought that she saw a lot of pain in her eyes as she said this, and wrapped her arm around her girlfriend tightly for a second, because this sort of pain, it was something that Rachel was familiar with. Santana sometimes forgot that a few years ago, before Glee, Rachel had no one to talk to or eat lunch with, or spend her days with. After Glee, it got a little bit better, and lately, after they'd started dating, Rachel always seemed to have people around her who actually cared. It was just hard to picture that it wasn't always like that; and it hurt her heart to remember that she, herself, and Quinn and Brittany had had a lot to do with that. They never talked about it, because Santana had a feeling that Rachel really didn't want to, and she didn't want to either, so it just never came up.

But it was at these times, when she was reminded how much Rachel's life used to suck, that she really felt guilty for being the cause of it.

She pressed a kiss to the side of Rachel's head and trailed her arm down, until her hand was linked with the diva's instead. "We'll humiliate her, then." she promised, giving the smaller hand a light squeeze.

A bright smile lit up Rachel's face as she continued to chatter on about Glee and the newest routine they were working on for Regionals. Her voice was bright and happy, and Santana tried to listen and give her opinions, but sometimes she just got really lost in watching Rachel instead of actually listening to her; it was just so damn hard with that girl, because she was such a natural beauty that whenever she was in her element, it just shone out of her in a way that the Latina could hardly comprehend.

Suddenly though, her thoughts on Rachel were all washed away, when a lot of things happened at the same time. As she felt Rachel's warm hand slip out of hers, she was about to object at the loss, but before she even had time to open her mouth, something cold and sticky hit her in the face and Santana stopped dead in her tracks.

Her mouth falling wide open, Santana tried to blink away the pain in her eyes to see through the substance she'd somehow been covered in. Raising her hand to wipe away the cold, it hit her like a tonne of bricks. _She'd just been slushied. _Fuck her mother! She'd just been frigging slushied! Growling from the back of her throat, Santana wiped her face again and saw that Rachel was pressed up against the wall, a hand covering her mouth in shock. And right there, in front of Santana, stood Karofsky with a shit-eating grin.

"You see the way things work around here?" he questioned with that mocking drawl of his, "The freaks have always been slushied, and now that you've gone gay on us... you no longer rule this school." he crumbled the plastic cup between his fingers and looked at her with a cocky grin, before fleeing the scene.

Santana could feel the humiliation wash up on her; she'd been slushied. Never, in her entire life, had she ever thought that she could feel so low. It wasn't even the fact that the sticky substance was sliding all the way into her underwear, or that her Cheerios top was now an ugly colour of brown. No. It was the fact that everyone in this hallway had seen her get covered in slushie and now everyone was snickering and laughing, and never had she ever felt this bad about herself.

She felt Rachel's small hand come to rest on her bare arm, "Baby..." she whispered, her voice scared and worried, and Santana suddenly knew what Rachel was talking about when she said that humiliation was worse than anything else. She would have much rather broken her nose than this.

The Latina turned to her girlfriend and angrily glared at her, "Why the fuck didn't you pull me with you when you ducked?" she hissed, ignoring the fact that everybody was privy to their little 'argument' if they didn't go somewhere private. She didn't care about that right now – she just really couldn't phantom that Rachel had seen the attacker come their way and then just ducked into the corner without even notifying her.

"I'm sorry!" Rachel whined, quickly pulling up a bunch of moist towelettes from one of those little bags she always carried around across her shoulder. "I thought you followed me, Baby, I – I'm so used to hiding away all the time, that I just know all the best spots!" she quickly scrambled to explain as she started wiping Santana's face off, and even though the Latina would much have preferred she didn't do so in public, it felt kind of nice when she carefully wiped the ice out of her eyes. Shit fucking stung!

"_God-damnit_!" Santana growled, ripping the wipe out of Rachel's hands to wash her own face. "Fuck Rachel, get me to a bathroom, why don't you?"

Rachel looked like a deer caught in the headlights as she quickly swooped her arm through Santana's and turned around, heading straight for the bathroom they'd just left. The Latina did her best to ignore the way that people seemed to laugh at her when they saw that _she'd_ been slushied, and she vowed to herself that Karofsky was going to _pay_ for this shit! As they barged right into the bathroom, two freshmen Cheerios took one look at Santana and gathered their things in a hurry to get out of there, probably thinking that it was way too frightening to be near the older Cheerio right now. They were right, too, because if anyone other than Rachel came close to her and saw her like this, Santana was sure she'd bite their heads off.

She'd never done vulnerable well, and she hated it when even Rachel saw her like that, so there was no way in fucking hell that she was going to let anyone else witness it.

Rachel quickly grabbed the folded chair by the wall and placed it near the sink. Leading Santana there by the hand, she turned on the water and placed a sloppy kiss on her jaw. "Take a seat here, Baby, I'm going to wash your hair, okay? I'll let the water run warm..." she seemed slightly confused about the entire matter, and Santana knew that she was probably feeling guilty for ducking out of the way like that. "I'm going to wash your face, okay? I know it stings your eyes, but it'll fade away after a while. Do you have any clean uniforms left, or perhaps something else in your locker you can wear?"

Santana grabbed her girlfriend by the arm and squeezed her eye open, hoping that no slushie would run in there, "Rach!" she firmly said, forcing the smaller girl to stop and look at her, "Calm down for a second, and breathe. I'm sorry I snapped at you, it's not your fault. Please _don't _feel guilty."

"But it is my fault!" Rachel argued, tentatively taking a seat on Santana's lap as she placed her two hands on the Latina's cheeks, "I'm such a horrible girlfriend. I just moved out of the way with no thoughts of you! I should have realised that after yesterday's debacle with our coming-out story, I would no longer be the only target of the two of us." she shook her head to herself and kissed the cheerleader's nose. "You taste like coke, and I'm sorry." she whispered.

The Latina grinned at her girlfriend, despite the fact that she was still seriously pissed at Karofsky and whoever invented the slushie facial back in the day. She was pretty sure that it was a recent invention, which meant that it was probably Puck.. hmm. She had a bone to pick with him! "Could you just clean me up, Tiny?"

Rachel hopped off her lap and gently threaded her fingers through Santana's long hair to brush out her ponytail and get the corn syrup out of there. "I'm not sure your extensions can survive this..." Rachel trailed off, as she combed one out and carefully placed it in the other sink to further rinse it there, after she was done with Santana. "I'll try, I do know all the tricks, but you might want to buy some new ones."

Santana sighed at the feel of Rachel's fingers in her hair like that, and hadn't this situation sucked so severely, she might've enjoyed it a bit more. "What are we gonna do about my uniform? The other one in my locker is dirty from gym this morning."

The diva dried her hands off and continued to let the water run down the sink, "I'll have to call Tina... she'll get my emergency slushie kit from my locker. I have a change of clothes, and I'll need the towels, too."

She snapped her eyes open and stared at her girlfriend in horror. "You want _me_ to wear _your_ clothes?"

Rachel grinned wickedly at her, "It's the only option we've got, Baby!" she said, before she dialled Tina's number on her phone and stepped outside of the bathroom to wait for their friend.

Which gave Santana plenty of time to fear what was going to come. Oh fucking all that is holy. She'd have to wear Rachel's clothes. Don't get her wrong, she loved the girl madly (the thudding in her chest whenever the diva was near was pretty good indication of that), but the girl couldn't dress for shit. It had been better lately after both Santana _and_ Kurt had sorted out her closet, and Brittany had put a lot of new clothes _in _there, but she still somehow managed to match up the weirdest of outfits. The Latina gulped at the thought. _Oh please God, don't let it be an animal sweater... _

"Good news, Santana!" Rachel cheered as she entered the room once more, locking the door behind her, "It's an animal sweater!"

_¡Ay díos mio!_

Rachel smiled to herself, "It could have been much worse, Baby, you have to realise that." she explained as she pulled out the towel from her bag, "There's a jeans skirt in there, and you don't _have_ to wear the knee-socks. I'm sure you'd look downright adorable if you did, but I understand they're not for everybody. They might not go that well with your sneakers either, it's just an idea. Lift your head."

Santana did as she was instructed to do, and pretty soon, Rachel was trying to wash out her extensions, while Santana changed into Rachel's clothes and dried off her hair. Her girlfriend was smiling like crazy the entire time, and the Latina knew that she was enjoying seeing her in these clothes. It would have been cute, how excited she was, if it wasn't for the fact that she was actually in _these clothes_. But she tried to make the best of it, by combing out her hair and letting it rest against her shoulders. It was much shorter now though, without the extensions, and Rachel did not have as much make up in her slushie kit as she'd have preferred, but it was better than a face without no make up at all.

Overall, she admitted that it could have been much worse had Rachel not been there. But she was still wearing a fucking sweater with a unicorn on it.

"You look beautiful, Baby." Rachel whispered and pressed a kiss to her lips, before they made their way out of the bathroom. Thankfully the next period had already begun due to the fact that cleaning up after a slushie took a lot of time, so no one was really in the hallway, which Santana greatly appreciated. They stopped by Rachel's locker to throw in the slushie kit and Santana's drenched uniform, before grabbing Rachel's binder and heading for the choir room.

The looks on everyone's faces as they entered the room, Rachel's hand tucked firmly inside Santana's as the smaller girl clung to her, were priceless. Mercedes' eyes turned wide and round, while Quinn immediately ducked her head to snicker into her hand. Brittany got this adorable look of confusion across her face, while their other team-mates pretty much just stared at the Latina in horror.

Tina lifted a hand and gestured to her, "Said so, didn't I!"

Puck couldn't help but let out a huge belly-laugh, "Fuck! I didn't think it was true! Were you really slushied, Lopez? You look ridiculous!"

"_Noah_!" Rachel objected, stomping her foot into the ground as she glared at her fellow Jew, "She looks adorable, and my clothes are lovely."

"No they're really not." Quinn added.

Sam shrugged his shoulders and, trying to make up for his girlfriend's rude behaviour, said, "It's just that... they're not really Santana's style, Rachel."

The Latina growled and dragged her girlfriend with her across the room, "Could we all focus on the important facts here instead? I was just _slushied_! People! What are we fucking gonna do about this? I wanna murder Karofsky, I wanna _see _blood!" she hissed, not even caring that Mr. Schuester was right there, and currently looking mortified.

Rachel squeezed her hand tightly. "It was the same with Kurt, Baby. Don't your remember? Karofsky is the reason that Kurt had to transfer. He's simply a cretin, and a homophobe, and he should be expelled for treating other students like this because of their sexual orientation!"

"Damn, Berry's worked up." Mike mumbled, as he kicked back in his chair.

"That's right, Michael, I am." Rachel replied, slipping Santana's hand out of hers to take the centre of the room. "Too much of this goes on in these halls. Wouldn't you agree with me, Mr. Schuester?" she questioned, but she didn't give the poor teacher a chance to reply, she simply continued, as Santana took a seat next to Brittany, who immediately started to fuss over her sweater, "We might not be able to stop Karofsky, but we can give him a taste of his own medicine! Plus that – that – that _bitch_ Jennifer Connelly! Santana managed to get her phone back from Jacob, but we still need to absolutely humiliate her!"

Artie gave a nod, "I'm right with you, Rach, and we're all behind you one hundred percent."

A storm of mumbled agreements from the rest of the club made Rachel smile brightly.

"Alright!" she said, clapping her hands together, "You all saw what Jennifer did to us, right? She exposed us, and the sole fact that all of you in this room – _including_ Mr. Schue – has seen my breasts is very good indication of that! I thank you, by the way, for being so great yesterday, you shall all receive thank-you cookies for your extra effort. And as you all might know, I'm fairly good at planning, so I've actually completed a little plan, and it can only be done if all of you help us, and if you, Mr. Schue," she turned to look at him with a pleading smile, "are kind enough to look the other way."

Dropping his papers to the piano, Mr. Schuester had a glint in his eyes as he said, "I'm going, I'm going."

When the door smacked close behind him, Rachel turned back around, and Santana could see that she was eager to get this done. The Latina felt a surge of excitement flow through her own body, and the expressions on all of their friends' faces told her that they were ready to fight for them as well.

"Fabulous!" Rachel said, as she flipped her hair behind her shoulder, "Now, seeing you get slushied, Baby, it actually gave me an idea. So," she said, that certain _mad_ glint in her eye, "this is what we're going to do..."

* * *

_Thank you so very much for all the kind reviews that I received from the last chapter; I'm so happy that you enjoyed it. Even those of you who're just reading – please continue to do so! _

_I hope that I at least did Sue a bit of justice in this chapter. Woman is damn hard to peg, that's for sure. I could never write her IC even if I tried. I hope she's somewhat right though. My decision to have her in their corner was fairly easy, and it was what I had wanted since the beginning, and I was thrilled to read in your reviews that that was what you hoped for as well. _

_Next chapter should be pay-back time for Jennifer AND Karofsky, which should be fun to write. It might take a little while for me to update though, because next week will be a very busy one for me. _

_Please tell me your thoughts in a review! I'd love to know what you thought of this. I think that – mostly – the student population at McKinley is over the fact that the girls are now dating, because it's yesterday's news at this point. The only people who aren't over it are the usual suspects; Karofsky because he's Karofsky, and he never left Kurt alone either, and Jennifer in this story because she's got a serious problem with Santana AND Rachel. I will also deal with Azimio at one point, so that should be interesting, too. _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or RENT. _


	20. Take Me For What I Am, Part One

**Chapter Twenty **

**Take Me For What I Am, Part One**

Text message from: **Tiny x3 **

Read: _Operation Golf Lima Echo Echo Kilo Sierra is a go! _

Chuckling to herself, Santana thrust her iPhone into her duffel bag, just as she casually glanced at Quinn and Brittany to see if they'd gotten the status update from Rachel. Reading the confused look on Brittany's face as a yes, and the despairing and annoyed huff on Quinn's lips as a hell yes, Santana felt a rush of excitement surge through her entire body.

They were fucking doing this!

She couldn't quite contain how eager she was to get started. Unfortunately, her part wasn't there yet, so she'd have to wait. And as Rachel had told them all countless of times last night when they'd all met in the Oscar-room in her basement, it was of 'the utmost importance that no one became eager and exposed their true intentions' – in short, it'd ruin the entire mission. Santana had been able to see on everyone's faces that, even though they were happy and wanted to help them, most of them were also quite scared of how seriously Rachel took the entire thing.

She'd planned out a detailed list of what everyone must do and when. She'd even assigned everyone code-names using the phonetic alphabet, because Rachel Berry never does anything halfway. She also managed to equip everyone with real radios and earpieces so they were able to stay in contact throughout the entire day (apparently, cell phones were not an option, and could be bugged). Santana was slightly scared of the evil streak that her girlfriend possessed, though she also found it incredibly hot. Her own radio was hidden beneath her Cheerios sweatshirt, and she hoped that Sue wouldn't make them do a series of difficult jumps exactly today, because if she tried to turn upside-down, the radio would smash to the ground and break into tiny little pieces.

A bit of blare sounded on the radio, and Santana discreetly fidgeted with her earpiece, as she awaited Rachel's next move, while doing warm-ups with the other cheerleaders. She could see Brittany trying to figure out where the sound inside her ear came from, while Quinn tried to get her to quiet down, so she wouldn't alert anyone to their plan.

"..._command centre here. Hey it works!_"

Santana chuckled to herself as Rachel had finally figured out how to work her radio, and the Latina sped up slightly, so she was running next to the two blondes.

"_Gold Star Bravo to Cheerio Whiskey, over." _

Santana ducked her head slightly to speak into the tiny microphone that was attached to her shirt, and couldn't quite understand why they were doing this, "Cheerio Whiskey here, over."

It only took Rachel mere seconds to respond after that, "_Foxtrot Lima and Foxtrot Tango will be accompanying me into the Cheerios locker room now. You will need to make sure that all the Cheerios stay on the field, I repeat, they must stay on the field! I will get back to you as soon as we're out, and if anyone should choose to make their way into the locker room, you must warn me via this radio. Over." _

The Latina laughed briefly, before she bent her head to reply once more. She thought the purpose of radios were to leave short and precise messages, but apparently Rachel hadn't received that memo. "Roger. Over."

"_Aw, you're using radio-speak, Baby! I'm so proud of you. I really thought no one was going to agree to this, because they all seemed rather apprehensive when I presented my plan. I do believe that my fabulous persuasion skills – along with my equally as fabulous sugar cookies – won them over, and I've never been more thankful for my award-winning smile... Oh, over!" _

Before Santana was able to reply to her after that completely inappropriate rant, Puck hogged the line, "_Slushie Whiskey here. Slushie Lima, Slushie Tango and I would like to remind you that we can all hear what you say. Over._"

"_Totally, Berry. Oh, and I want a snickers bar after my work is done. Over or whatever." _one incredibly annoyed Lauren continued to say, after her boyfriend was done.

Next to her, Quinn snorted as they rounded the corner and passed Sue Sylvester, who was watching them like a hawk, her bullhorn hanging by her side, so she was ready to yell profanities at them. Santana had a bad feeling that she knew that they were up to something, because she was Sue Sylvester, and she _always _knew. But she wasn't going to say anything, Santana could see that.

A very forlorn Rachel replied back to them all, "_My deepest apologies from the command centre. I suggest you all get back to work and I'll do the same. Oh, and Slushie Tango, if you could please refrain from using any real names from this point on, that would be lovely. Thank you. Over and out._"

Santana sighed heavily and tried to steady her breathing as she thought of Rachel, Tina and Mercedes inside the Cheerios locker room, trying to break into Jennifer's locker. They were looking for something. No one was quite sure what it was, but Rachel said that they'd know when they found it. She also couldn't help but imagine Finn, Puck and Lauren right now, hitting every store in town, trying to buy as much slushie as humanly possible (hence their, uhm, _brilliant_ code-names). They were in charge of getting it to the school where they'd all be in charge of _using_ it. Santana couldn't help but grin at that. It was going to be epic!

"You did give Puck your keys, right?" Santana whispered to Quinn, as all the Cheerios came to a halt, and Coach Sylvester started barking orders at them.

Quinn gave her a short, almost invisible nod, "Yeah. He's really enjoying this."

Brittany moved over then, squirming her way in between her two best friends. "I don't get it." she whispered, while Santana kept a firm eye on Sue, "There's all these voices in my head, and I swear, I didn't put them there."

Quinn's eyes bulged slightly out of their sockets.

The tallest blonde cheerleader continued to say, as she fell to the balls of her heels, and then moved to the tips of her toes, "And San, one of them sounds like Rachel, and it's really scary, because I don't want her in my head! She talks all the time when I'm with her, and now she talks when I'm not with her, too. It's just really, really, really, really, _really_ scary."

Santana gave Brittany's arm a slight pad and told her that – just for today – she'd get to hear all the Glee kids' voices, just for fun. Brittany licked her lips as she thought that over, and Santana moved to make the bottom of the pyramid. _Hopefully for the last time_, she thought wickedly. If everything worked out perfectly today, Jennifer was gonna get her ass kicked off the squad, and Santana would be bumped from the bottom and right up to second-in-command. She couldn't wait!

The rest of the practice ran smoothly. A few times Quinn had to yell at some of her cheerleaders when they thought they'd hit the dressing room for some water, and she'd sent Brittany in there to fill up their water bottles instead. Other than that, there were the occasional clutter on the line, when one of her moron friends hit the button without meaning to. She was pretty certain that Sam had had oatmeal for breakfast, while Artie had a riveting argument with his father about suspenders on his way to school.

About fifteen minutes before practice was to end, Rachel called out to all of them, and the glee was evident in her voice as she said, "_Gold Star Bravo, CC, here. Calling out to all Gleeks. Mission accomplished, we are leaving the locker room with a great treasure-" _

"_You're gonna blow you're load, Santana – uhm, Cheerio Whiskey." _Mercedes cut in.

"_-and I would like to request the three Cheerios to join us in the choir room right before class to discuss what to do next." _Rachel breathed in deeply, but she didn't lose the button, so Santana didn't think she was done,_ "CC calling Slushie Lima. Over." _

Santana bit her lip as all the Cheerios slowed down their heart rates and followed in Quinn's steps as she warmed them all down to do stretches. She couldn't wait to see what they'd found on Jennifer – hopefully it would be epic and enough to completely humiliate her. The slushies weren't going to cut it with her; she deserved to be dragged to hell and exposed in the same way that she'd exposed Rachel and Santana!

Bending her back over, the Latina stretched her arms just as Finn replied to Rachel, "_Uhm yeah. Slushie Lima here. Over." _

"_How is it going with the mission? Are you all settled? Over." _

There was a lot of noise on the radio and Santana glanced at Quinn, who was trying not to look too amused, though it was evident that Finn had no fucking clue what he was doing with his radio. They could practically hear him scrambling with the buttons and the microphone, and in between all that noise, they heard Puck swear in the background.

"_Slushie Lima, you moron, how hard is it to work a damn radio?" _

Hehe. That was Sam – uh. _No_. Lima Romeo, whoops.

Puck then cut in from his radio, which all other ten members of New Directions really appreciated, because apparently Finn Hudson was as dumb as he looked and could not be trusted with simple technology. "_Slushie Whiskey here, taking over for Slushie Lima. The mission is almost done. Over._"

"_Wonderful." _Rachel answered, a happy sigh leaving her lips, "_You're heading for McKinley then? Over._"

"_Affirmative. Over_." Puck replied, and Santana swore, he was _really_ enjoying this way more than he should.

Rachel chuckled, "_Bring the slushie into position, using the keys that Cheerio Lima gave you. I will get back to you when further information is available. Over._"

"_Roger and out._" Puck mumbled, before he shut the radio off, and there was oddly silent inside Santana's head. She smiled sheepishly at Quinn who seemed to be very amused as well by this entire thing, and firmly ordered the squad to go shower. Sue was watching Santana carefully as she ran across the field; the Latina could feel her eyes digging into her back, and as she grabbed her duffel bag, she turned around briefly, to cast a glance at her coach, and just as she did, Sue's eyes twitched slightly, before the blonde woman turned around.

_Sue Sylvester just winked at me,_ Santana couldn't believe it. She felt this weird sense of a shiver run down her arms as she ran inside behind Brittany, wanting to take a quick shower and get out of there, so she could talk to Rachel. However, just as she was about to enter the locker room, someone grabbed her arm, and she whipped around, only to come face to face with a red-headed Cheerio – a freshman.

The young girl blinked scarily at her, "Sa-Santana?"

Arching an eyebrow, Santana jutted her hip out and glanced at the other girl, who was at least a couple of inches higher than her. She was confused, though. What did this girl want? They'd hardly spoken two words to each other, since Santana didn't believe it was her job to make the new girls feel welcome. Actually, her job was the exact opposite; to make the new girls feel scared, and then laugh as they ran away with their tails between their legs. But this girl, she didn't seem angry or hostile, like Santana had experienced from a lot of the student body these past three days, no – she seemed rather shy, but still determined to say whatever it was that she wanted to say.

The Latina's fingers tightened around her bag, "Yeah?"

Shuffling on her feet, the girl was hesitant to say whatever it was that she wanted to say. Normally, Santana would have called her out on it and told her she didn't have all day, but she was actually very curious as to what this girl _wanted_. They'd never really spoken, and yet there they were. The red-head awkwardly said, "I uhm, I just wanted to say, I guess, that – that I think it's pretty great... what you're d-doing, I mean. And that not _everyone_ hates you for it. I actually... I actually a-admire _you_... for it."

Santana found herself gaping at the other girl then, mouth agape and eyes wide. _What the hell_? She wanted to strangle this girl for standing there in front of her, saying those things, as if she needed reassurance, yet... Yet she couldn't help the feeling of complete happiness that floated through her body, because somehow those words? They were the words that she'd fucking needed to hear from _someone_ who wasn't her family... or Rachel's family... or one of the Glee kids. Having a person she'd practically never interacted with, come up to her like that, and without question just say those things to her, it really meant a lot. Because they would be getting enough hatred as it was, and it was nice to feel like they were still supported somehow.

Apparently, her lack of response scared the younger girl, because she scrambled to explain herself, "It's just that – my, my sister's gay, and I know how hard it was for her until she moved to Florida. People here can be so close-minded." she finished, with wide eyes staring at the Latina.

Santana couldn't stop a crooked smile from appearing on her face, and she gallantly reached an arm out to pat the other girl briefly on the shoulder. "Well. _Thanks_. I guess." she mumbled, studying the girl closely as she took a step back. "What's your name again?"

"Haylie." she whispered, a confused look edged across her face as she stuck her hands into her Cheerios jacket.

The Latina shot the other girl an even warmer smile. "Thanks Haylie." she mumbled, before she turned around to enter the locker room. The weirdest part of it was just that... that she really meant it. She couldn't quite shake the feeling off that as soon as they'd dealt with Karofsky and Jennifer, then it would actually be okay for them to go to school. Of course not everyone was going to love them and praise them for being out, but... but if they could walk down the hallway, their fingers intertwined, and share quick kisses between classes, just like all other couples at McKinley could, then that would be good enough for her.

As soon as she entered the locker room though, she was reminded why it was that the last few days had been so awful. The second she threw her duffel bag onto the bench, her eyes fell on the blonde bitch, who was currently drying off right across the room.

Jennifer let out a dramatic gasp and made a show out of covering herself up. Turning to a few of their team-mates, who were coming out of the shower stalls, she practically yelled across the room. "Everybody! Cover up, there's _Santana_! You don't want the _les _to see you."

Rolling her eyes, Santana heard Quinn gasp loudly behind her, and she was pretty certain that the head-cheerleader was about ready to fly right off the handle, if she didn't deal with this herself. She wasn't even interested in picking a fight with Jennifer like she'd done the last time something like this happened; no. Because she knew for certain that Jennifer would get what she deserved before the day was over. Instead, the Latina felt just contend about putting her in the right place, simply just using her _words_. It was something she'd hadn't been comfortable with before – usually it would start with words and end in violence. But this time, Santana was just going to take the high-road, tell Jennifer what she thought, and then move on and let it roll right off her back.

"I don't want your bony white _ass_, Jennifer." she said, shooting her a mocking grin, "Don't flatter yourself. Please." she finished, before she turned around and – quite obviously – dug into her duffel bag to pull out her phone. Turning over, so she was in clear view of Jennifer (who was sucking air in like some freaky fish out of water), she made a show of looking at it, while saying to Brittany, "I'm just gonna text my _girlfriend_."

If Jennifer hadn't been told by Jacob that Santana had gotten her phone back, this was a serious blow to her. And a promise that something were to happen, because Santana had found her out. And it pleased the Latina to see that the other cheerleader scrambled to pull her clothes on and leave the locker room. Santana leered at her the entire time, just to be annoying, and when the door smacked close behind her, she couldn't help but yell, "Yeah, you better run, chica!"

Brittany and Quinn (and along with more than half of the squad, Santana realised) broke out laughing as soon as it happened. Santana accepted the excited hug from Brittany, before she glanced around the room and saw a lot of the other Cheerios – including Haylie – cheer her on with smiles and whistles, while they applauded her.

And this made her feel even more certain. Things were gonna be _okay_.

**x **

Santana, Quinn and Brittany closed the door behind them when they entered the choir room, only to find Rachel, Tina and Mercedes sprawled out on the floor, a bunch of papers spread out in between them. Rachel was leaning over, her nose stuffed all the way into a spiralled notebook, which caused her butt to stick right up into the air, giving Santana (and everyone else for that matter, though the Latina hardly think they noticed) a splendid view. As she moved across the floor, she made sure to grab it teasingly, before flopping down next to her girlfriend.

"What's happening?" Quinn questioned, her scrutinizing gaze moving over the dirty floor, trying to see if she could make any sense of any of it.

Tina's smile was wider than Santana had ever seen it before, when the Asian girl looked up from a paper she'd been studying quite firmly, "This is freaky, you guys." she said, nodding her head a little, as she leaned forward on her right arm, to extend the paper to Quinn across the floor, using her left hand.

Mercedes laughed in agreement. "This girl's a _serious_ nutcase. I'm telling ya' – she's even worse than the hot mama over here." she nudged her head towards Rachel, who still hadn't bothered to look up from the notebook she was so desperately studying.

Santana reached over then, and gently flipped it close, so she could greet her girlfriend properly. When Rachel turned to object to her action, she swooped right in a planted a deep kiss to her lips. Pulling back, she saw that the diva was grinning just as stupidly as she'd been herself since leaving the locker room.

"Hi there." Rachel whispered, moving over, so she was sitting cross-legged on the floor, instead of stuck on all fours.

The Latina weaved their hands together, just as Quinn burst out laughing from her seat on the floor; she'd been reading over the piece of paper since Tina handed it to her, and when she started laughing, the Asian girl – along with Mercedes – giggled as well, bobbing their heads up and down, seemingly agreeing very much with Quinn's reaction.

The HBIC lowered the paper and glanced at Rachel and Santana in amusement. "This stuff's great! If we can get Jewfro to post this on his blog, Jennifer will _never_ be able to set foot in this school again without being properly ridiculed!"

"And it's not even the worst." Mercedes added.

Rachel nodded, and reached over, grabbing a notebook from the floor and closing it with a snap, "She's written Mrs. Finn Hudson on all of her notebooks. It's disturbing." the diva's eyes scanned the cover over, before she handed it to Santana, whose eyes went wide when she saw the amount of times that the girl had written Finnocence's name, "It's very apparent to me now why she hates me so much, even though I've been _nothing_ but nice to her!"

Brittany reached for another notebook and shot them a confused look. "Why would she write Finn's name? Is her real name Finn, too? Oh, _oh_!" she smiled as she came to a (hopefully right) conclusion. "Is she a guy?" she whispered, before dropping the notebook onto the floor.

Mercedes chuckled, "No Britt, she's just very much in love with Finn."

The blonde cheerleader seemed to think that over for a few seconds, "Oh.."

Santana was still staring lamely at the notebook that Rachel had handed to her, and as she gazed over the entire floor, she was amazed at what her girlfriend and their two friends had been able to accomplish by breaking into one locker. "She didn't even realise that any of this was gone..." the Latina murmured, her eyes falling to a particularly decorated Algebra notebook, where there were hearts and churches drawn as well. She bit her lip, "I guess I got her angry enough not to notice it."

Quinn chuckled from her seat and shook her head in disbelief, "Alright, you simply gotta listen to this one," clearing her throat, she could hardly control her giggles when she recited, "_One cup of sweet thoughts, A few sprinkles of laughter, A smattering of kisses, A pinch of disaster,_" she took a second to laugh, while Tina broke into a serious of infatuating giggles, "_A spoonful of recovery, A few pints of forgiveness, A dash of damnation, Another pint of forgiveness._" she paused, and cocked an eyebrow in the way that only Quinn could truly do, "Hold on! It gets better yet – _This is a recipe, For a love strong and true, If you'll be my Iron Chef, I'll be your surprise main ingredient_."

As soon as she was done reading, Santana found herself breaking into a full-blown belly-laugh as well. Holy fucking mother of all this is good! Had Jennifer fucking Connelly seriously sat down and written such poems – as in, had she _meant_ them? And were they about frigging Finn Hudson? Santana could hardly take it. She couldn't stop laughing, and as the other occupants of the room laughed along with her, she found herself clutching her belly and fighting tears that wanted to run from her eyes.

"There's a bunch of these!" Rachel managed to explain through her giggles, "And they're _all _about Finn!"

Reaching over, Santana grabbed the nearest piece of paper and quickly started reading through the love poem that Jennifer had created, only to find herself holding back another laughing fit. "These are epic!" she mumbled, glancing at her friends with renewed eager. "People will start reciting these to her in the hallways if Jewfro posts them! Seriously. We gotta give them to him."

Rachel squeezed her hand tightly, and there was a wonderful glint in her eyes, as she replied, "Don't worry, we will."

Mercedes shook her head as she reached for another notebook, "We should refer to her as Mrs. Finn Hudson from now on..." she furrowed her brow then and glanced at Tina, "Girl better never get with white boy though, because if she does... damn. She'll be named Jennifer Hudson, and hell to the no! She's one fine black lady, there's no way the thin stick's gonna share _her_ name."

Quinn glanced over at Rachel then and shot the diva a real friendly smile, "Is there anything else we can use?"

Rachel flushed a deep red as she reached to pick up the notebook that she'd been reading earlier, before Santana closed it on her. "There are these." she whispered, rattling with the book's pages. "I hardly think they're going to be useful for us though, because they're about me." she glanced down at the book in deep thought, "Her hatred for me seems to go much deeper than first anticipated, but I guess that's due to the general feeling towards me at this school." she looked up again then, but she didn't seem sad, Santana was happy to see that she had a small smile on her face (probably happy that things were different now, and that she actually had friends), "They're _drawings _of me." she mumbled, with a pointed glare in Quinn's direction.

The blonde girl's eyes went completely wide, and she scrambled across the floor on all fours to get a look in the notebook. She seemed rather eager, and Santana couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. Quinn then whispered, as she leafed through the pages, "These are violent drawings!" she laughed, "I guess I'm not responsible for _all _the art of you in the bathroom stalls."

"There's art?" Brittany questioned, "I just thought they were drawings. If it's art, maybe I could give the stalls to my uncle Steven. He sells art, and he has a studio in Dalton."

Ignoring the taller blonde, Santana reached over and snatched the book out of Quinn's hands. "I'll be taking this though." she firmly said, because there was no way in hell she was letting this lie around so it could possibly get snatched by someone, thus exposing Rachel even more than she'd already been.

Turning her wrist over, Rachel quickly checked her watch. "Alright, the plan should still be in motion. I need to call out to make sure that everybody knows what they're doing next." she reached over then, and grabbed her radio from where it had been sitting on the floor. "Gold Star Bravo calling Slushie Whiskey. Over."

"_Slushie Whiskey here. Over." _Puck eagerly replied.

Rachel flashed them all a bright smile, "Are you all set in the locker room? Over."

There was a brief silence while everyone waited for Puck to reply, "_We're all set. Lima Oscar and Ben-Israel are here, installing the cameras. Over_."

Santana shared a brief glance with Mercedes, who seemed excited for this as well; if Artie and Jewfro had set everything up too, it wouldn't be long before they were able to get to the final parts of their plan. They just needed to break into Karofsky's locker as well, which might be tougher, because that boy seemed to have no dirt on him, except what everybody knew already. That he had a temper and was a complete idiot. But they simply had to find something else, too.

Rachel nodded to herself, "CC calling Lima Romeo? Are you both ready? Over."

Sam immediately responded to the diva's request, "_Lima Romeo here, we're waiting by the nurse's office. We're already excused from our first period class. Over_."

"Wonderful!" Rachel cheered, "Cheerio Whiskey will be right with you, and when you're done, please await further confirmation. Over."

"_Roger and out._" Sam replied, and Rachel put down the radio, turning to the rest of the girls with a happy smile.

Tina blinked at her, "What now then?"

Reaching over, the lithe diva started gathering all of the things together in neat piles. "The bell will be ringing in approximately two minutes and twenty-six seconds. We need to gather this together – a pile for Jacob and a pile for us, and Baby," she turned to Santana then, with a pleading look in her eyes, "You need to join Michael and Samuel by the nurse's office, so you'll be ready for the next part of our plan."

The Latina leaned over then, quickly placing a small peck on her girlfriend's lips, "Aye aye!" she happily grinned, before pulling herself off the floor and dusting off her sore knees. "Make sure to keep us all updated, okay?" she requested, glancing briefly at the other four girls who were sorting through the papers with happy murmurs and short giggles.

Rachel gave her a little nod, and then Santana was off; the hallways were filled with students, trying to make it to class on time, which was fucking perfect, since she indeed needed to blend in so her first period teacher wouldn't spot her. It was important that she managed to get out of class by faking some sort of pain or injury, because what she, Mike and Sam were about to do – they couldn't do while the hallways were filled between classes. They needed time and solace to break into Karofsky's locker, and the Latina was certain that it was going to be a difficult task. She hoped, though, that they'd be able to find something as good as what the others had found in Jennifer's locker. She could only hope though.

The two guys were waiting for her in the office, and while she tried to explain to the nurse, just how much her back hurt after a particularly nasty fall during this morning's Cheerios practice, she saw that Sam was subconsciously checking his watch all the time, while Mike had already gotten into serious ninja mode. The bell had already rung, which meant that the halls were empty, so they better get moving soon! The nurse was reluctant to believe her though, but eventually she wrote a permission slip for Santana as well, and as soon as she left to give them to the administration's office, the three Gleeks saw their chance to escape.

Rushing out of the office (Mike was practically squashed up against the wall, that fucking goof-ball), they made their way to the other end of the school where Karofsky's locker was located. They made a quick stop at Sam's locker first though, to get everything they needed to make the break-in. It wouldn't take much though; a lot of things got stolen from lockers because everything at McKinley was in such a poor state. That's why hardly anyone left real valuables in their lockers; the people breaking into them would only care if there were money or something.

As they stopped by the locker, Santana stuck her nose into the lock, trying to figure out if it was going to be difficult or not. It looked like a piece of cake, really. "It's gonna be fucking easy." she said to the boys, as she turned around.

Sam placed the corny crowbar on the floor and shot her a charming smile. "No need for this then?"

Rolling her eyes, the Latina turned to get to work, while Sam moved to inform Rachel via the radio system that they were starting. Mike was more annoying than any good, since he seemed adamant about using his so called ninja skills. He swirled around the hallway, trying to be look-out, which meant that Santana got to work in peace. She stuck her hand into her pocket, and, contemplating it for a few seconds, decided that a nail file was going to be more than sufficient. She'd just have to pick the lock. And if her nail file couldn't do it, one of the hairpins from her hair would probably do the trick.

"Can you do it?" Sam questioned, tripping nervously on his feet next to her. He was excited, she could tell, but fuck it, what a pussy! He was afraid that they were going to get caught.

Fidgeting with the file in the lock, Santana was focusing entirely on this plan, because if they were going to succeed, she _needed_ to do this. "Just a second..." she murmured.

Mike came to a halting stop next to Sam then. "Are we done yet?"

Santana groaned, "Does it look like we're done, stupid? The locker's still fucking closed!"

The Asian boy looked at her and continued to jump impatiently from side to side. How was it possible that she'd ended up with these two fucking morons during this 'important' mission? Why couldn't she have had Puck by her side? He would have picked this lock within two seconds. She could feel a bit of desperation sneaking up on her from behind; it wasn't because she was scared of being found out, that didn't fucking matter. No it was because, it would frigging ruin their entire plan if they didn't succeed. Had it been any other locker, any other day, the teachers could have gone to hell with their punishments. Today was just _not_ for fucking fun.

Some rattling on the radio told everyone that Rachel wanted to contact someone, despite the fact that everyone else was in class. "_Gold Star Bravo to Lima Mike? Lima Mike? Gold Star Bravo calling Lima Mike, are you there?_" there was a pause on the radio, and Santana turned to look expectantly at Mike, who was still just standing there, not making any motions to reply to Rachel, "_Lima Mike? Of holy Streisand! MICHAEL THAT'S YOU!_"

This seemed to kick Mike out of his apparent coma, because the boy jumped to reply back to their leader. "Uh sorry. Lima Mike here. Over."

Sam stuck his tongue out at his friend, "Mike! You're Mike. How hard can _that _be?"

Rachel sighed heavily on the other end, "_Thank you for answering, Lima Mike. How's it going? I must warn you that there's approximately thirteen minutes and nine seconds before the hallways could be filled with students once more._"

"Damnit!" Santana cursed, when the file slipped and the pointy end swooped right beneath her fingernail. Fucking hurt like hell. But she was getting desperate; she had to do this now! Ignoring the blood from her thumb, she slipped the nail file in there once more and was happy to her the tiny click of a lock. "We're in!" she cheered in a whisper.

Mike's face lit up completely and he turned to reply to Rachel, "We're in now. We'll be returning to you as soon as we've left the crime-scene. Over and out."

Slamming the locker door all the way open, Sam squeezed his way in there to sort through the locker with Santana. Mike tried to be a part of it by somehow finding room for himself, and three sets of hands quickly – and sloppily – started roaming through everything that Karofsky had in this messy locker. The Latina was eagerly waiting for something brilliant to fall right into their laps, but there were so many frigging things stuffed into this smelly football locker that it was quite frankly disturbing her to have her hands in it.

Sam flipped through page after page of school books, "There's nothing in here! What the fuck? What are we gonna do?" he questioned, turning to Santana with worried eyes; he knew that it was important to find something on Karofsky as well, because if they didn't – he'd never stop being the bully that he was, and they'd just about had it with him. If they didn't stop him, Rachel and Santana would never be able to peacefully walk down the hallways together. And the Glee Kids would be bullied until they graduated.

Santana clenched her jaw and kept on going. She was_ not_ giving up. "Everyone has a secret, there must be something in here." she sternly said, afraid to show the desperation and worry in her voice. "We need to keep on going."

"We have seven minutes left." Mike replied, pulling a bunch of stacked notebooks away, before awkwardly pulling out a bunch of dirty clothes. He made a face of disgust, but two seconds later, a giant smile appeared on his face. "Hey!" he said, eyes going wide, "What's this?"

Santana pulled out of the locker to give him more room to sort through whatever it was that he found, and when he'd pulled it out into the light of the hallway, Sam moved to gather even more from the depths of the jock's locker. Santana could feel her heart thudding in her throat as she and Mike bent over the stack of magazines that Karofsky had hidden beneath his dirty gym clothes.

Sam whistled from behind them. "This is good stuff..." he trailed off, and Santana could hardly contain her happiness, because it seemed like they'd found something after all.

But just as they were about to really dig into whatever it was, Rachel's frantic voice was heard over the radio, "_Gold Star Bravo calling Lima Romeo! STOP THE MISSION! STOP THE MISSION! The target has been excused from class to use the restroom and there is a huge possibility that he might be dropping by at the crime-scene. You need to leave right this instant and cease all your delinquencies!" _

Santana cursed beneath her breath while the two guys immediately started freaking out right next to her. She plopped the magazined she'd been holding onto the pile in Mike's arms and quickly turned to throw the dirty clothes in Karofsky's locker into the back corner, where it'd first been located. She wasn't sure if she wanted Karofsky to know that someone had broken into his locker and stolen something; it'd definitely freak him out and make him worry until he found out that it was them. Or perhaps it was better if he had no idea at all, because then their attack would surprise him even more. Happy with the way that things seemed to be inside the locker, she snapped it shut and turned the lock over.

"Let's move it, pussies." she hissed, before the three friends scrambled down the hallway as fast as their legs would allow them. Without even agreeing to it, or talking about it, they all made their way towards the choir room, and when they fell onto the floor in there, they were all breathing heavily from the spurt they'd just ran from one end of the school to the other.

Turning over onto her stomach, Santana couldn't hide her foolish grin when her eyes fell to the two boys. And before she knew it, all three of them were laughing like crazy. For a second there, she'd really been afraid that they were going to get caught, but damn, it was so nice to be here right now, knowing that they'd made it, and that they had _something_ to show the others. And while their laughter calmed down, Santana reached over and grabbed some of the things that the boys had thrown onto the floor; she hadn't really managed to figure out what it was that they'd stolen, but the look on Sam and Mike's faces when they found it had told her enough – so it simply had to be hella good!

She had no idea _quite_ how good though. But as her eyes scanned over the pieces, she looked up, only to see the two guys smirking wickedly at her. She couldn't help the huff of air that left her lungs, when she reached for her radio.

"Holy... fucking... shit..." she whispered, satisfyingly smiling to herself, "Rachel needs to see this!"

* * *

_I'm quite sorry that there was a bit of a delay with this chapter – my sincerest apologies. I hope you liked it though! Originally, I was going to put the entire 'plan' into one chapter, but it would simply be too long, and it'd take even longer before I'd be able to update, so I decided to cut it in half, which works out well enough, hopefully. _

_I hope you like this little 'theme' I've come up with. I do realise that it seems quite silly, but I thought about it a lot, and decided that if I was truly going to write them do a pay-back to Jennifer and Karofsky, then it had to be done with a dash of humour and crazy, because it'd simply be awful if done seriously. So yeah, I decided to use the phonetic alphabet and radios because yeah, Rachel is Rachel, and she always goes overboard. Please not that I chose the most 'appropriate' names for them in relation to the show. If some of you are not sure what the phonetic alphabet is, it's simply a way of talking in codes where every letter has a word (starting with the letter in question), so when you need to spell something, you simply use a line of other words. Like, what Rachel called the mission: Golf Lima Echo Echo Kilo Sierra ultimately spells out GLEEKS.  
_

_I'm quite sure you can all guess what secret they've just found of Karofsky's – shouldn't be too hard. _

_Anyway! Thank you so much for reading, and I'll hopefully be able to update again by next weekend! _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or RENT, and the silly poem that Jennifer wrote to Finn? I found it online at this site: www . nathonius . com / archives/000446 . html (I hope it works!). It's called 'A Little Love Recipe'; all the poems on the site are quite silly, but I had a good time searching for something weird! _


	21. Take Me For What I Am, Part Two

**Chapter Twenty One **

**Take Me For What I Am, Part Two**

"Well this... this just changes everything." Rachel whispered as she stared down at the open magazine in her lap. Her voice was emotionless, but Santana could clearly see the way that this entirely new revelation had hit home with her – how it affected her. The Latina was worried what this might possibly mean for her girlfriend and their current plans...

What if she actually really wanted to change something?

The rest of them fucking _didn't_! Mercedes was practically struck in her seat, completely blown away with the facts that were screaming her in the face. Puck looked smug, while Tina just seemed flabbergasted.

Sam gave Rachel a questionable look, "What do you mean this 'changes everything'? It changes nothing, Rachel!" he said, clearly avoiding to look at the magazines that had them all so riled up (Santana had a feeling that he'd seen plenty for a lifetime after he opened the first one and didn't get to shield his eyes), "Karofsky's still gonna get what he deserves, we just have more ammo to do it!"

Rachel heaved in a deep breath and shot out of her seat, thus dropping the magazine to the floor. She fidgeted with her hands in front of her chest as she paced the floor back and forth, clearly not certain whether or not they should go through with it. Her cheeks were flaming red and her strides were hard and they pushed her around the choir room in quick, round circles. Brittany followed her every move; her head going round and round as she watched their leader go. And while Santana thought that the entire scene could seem very fucking amusing, right now so wasn't the time. Because she was not going to let Rachel back out of this one.

Quinn gave her a slight nudge, clearly thinking along the same lines as her. She had a magazine spread open in her lap, which she and Lauren had spent a great time looking through for the sake of 'the plan'. Hah, as _if_. Santana snorted at the idea. Artie though, he seemed rather unaffected by it, as he picked another magazine up and stuck his nose all the way into it, clearly fascinated by whatever it was the he was seeing. Finn just looked downright appalled by the entire thing, while Mike was still squished against the wall, not quite having come down from the high of his ninja-mission.

The diva stopped then and motioned towards the magazines which were all in a heap on the floor along with a few very disturbing letters from _Kurt_ of all people. Santana was still trying to piece this entire thing together inside her head, and when had _that_ happened? (And where the fuck did _Blaine_ get into the picture?) But whereas, Rachel seemed to have reached the final conclusion way faster than any of the others had been able to, because most of them were still in a state of complete disgust and or shock.

_Karofsky is gay. _

Yup, it still sounded weird in Santana's ears; no matter how many times she said it inside her head. It just didn't add up. Though it did explain why he always came onto girls, but never slept with them. Or why he'd always been so fucking mean to Kurt.

Hehehe. Dave Karofsky was gay!

"Don't you see?" Rachel questioned then, suddenly whipping around on her feet, which caused her long brown hair to hit Finn right in the face. "We can't give this to Jacob! I'd thought we'd find a mild secret, something to get him riled up, so he'd know we're serious. But _this_ – this changes _everything_." she repeated, shaking her head to herself.

A lot of their friends turned to give Santana questionable looks as if to say 'deal with your crazy woman, woman!', and Santana knew that it was going to come down to her to talk Rachel out of whatever it was that the diva had convinced herself of. So the Latina took a tentative step closer and placed her hands on her hips, ready to fight. "What do you mean it changes everything, Rach? You're not fucking saying that we're not giving this to Jewfro, are you? It's frigging _gold_, Tiny! He'll never set foot at this school again and we'll all be free of him!"

The look Rachel shot her as soon as she was done speaking, told the cheerleader that she'd clearly said something very wrong. The diva's eyes had never been so cold and heated at the same time, and they were thin slits with only hints of flicker beneath them. Santana found herself gulping at the sight. "We're not giving this to Jacob, Santana! _We're not_! We can still carry ahead with the rest of the plan regarding him and Jennifer, but I'm _not _exposing him like this."

Puck butted in then, clearly thinking that his fellow Jew was a bit stupid about this one. "Rach – you're being fucking dumb, alright? Why don't you wanna expose him? He's been bullying you for years because of your fathers and he practically pushed Kurt out of this school!"

Rachel hit Puck hard across the stomach and stubbornly crossed her arms in front of her chest. "You're all being incredibly stupid right now. Don't you see?" she whispered, her gaze turning soft as looked over all of them, "If we expose Dave this way, it'll be just like what Jennifer did to us. I can't have it, I won't do it."

"_Fuck_ Karofsky!" Santana argued, not caring whether or not it'd be the same damn thing. Karofsky deserved what was coming to him after being so completely homophobic for all these years while being in the closet himself. It just wasn't fair, that thing. He was a pussy, and a bully, and he had it coming. He was the sole reason that no one could be out at McKinley. Sure, Azimio was bad too, but he was hardly in league with Karofsky. If they got him to transfer schools, more students would dare to take the jump and come out.

"Yeah!" Finn added, nodding his abnormally large head, "Fuck Karofsky..." he stepped closer to Rachel then, placing one of his giant hands on her shoulder, "Rachel... Karofsky doesn't matter, it doesn't matter if we put all of those letters onto Jacob's blog. He deserves it."

Rachel huffed at him, "And I suppose Kurt's no matter in this situation at all? And Blaine, too?" she pulled herself out under Finn's hand and turned her back to them all, staring at the door. "They're a part of this too, you know."

Mercedes said, "And I know Kurt will agree with the rest of us. _Expose him_!"

The singer turned back around then, the fire once more shooting up in her eyes, "Well I don't think so!" she firmly told them all, clenching her fists wildly by her sides, "Why do you reckon Kurt transferred schools? Why did he invite Blaine here in the first place? I'm so stupid for not seeing it before! I've been around gays my entire life, I should've seen the signs. Kurt _knew_." she said to them, and Santana nodded, because yeah, they'd sort of figured that with the letters and everything, "Kurt knew and yet he... yet he didn't _tell._" Rachel finished, a thoughtful look on her face, as if she was still trying to make the final pieces of the puzzle fit.

Tina spoke up then, worming her way into the conversation and closing the magazine, "I think Rachel should decide this for us. She's our leader, it's her decision."

"I agree!" Mike peeped up from his place against the wall.

Puck rolled his eyes in frustration. "This is complete bullshit, Rachel! All this work for nothin'! Don't you get it? Karofsky's _gay_!"

Rachel huffed, "Yes, I think we've established that by now, Noah."

"I fucking can't believe it." Sam mumbled, shaking his head as he leaned back in his chair. "It's like... dude, it's _Karofsky_. That's so wrong on so many levels! It's just like... it's _weird_." he firmly finished, and Santana had to agree because – hells yeah! That's weird. Karofsky's not supposed to be gay, he's supposed to be an ugly, stupid, disgusting jock, but still straighter than straight. This was just... so odd.

Lauren bit into the snickers bar that Rachel had handed to her (as promised) the second she'd entered the choir room earlier, "Karofsky is a_ fine_ man, but what he's done is not alright, Berry. We need to squish him! Do you want me to sit on him?"

Ignoring Lauren's attempt at helpfulness, Artie spoke up, finally rejoining them after being caught up in the magazine. "Well, I think we'd be taking it a step too far to reveal something like this. Though I do want revenge, there's a way to do it, and this isn't it. Besides, he's been trying to hide this, and that's for a good reason. He's not the only homophobe at this school." he wisely finished, pushing his glasses onto the top of his nose as he shrugged.

Mercedes arched an eyebrow, "You have a point, Artie, but really? He's been keepin' these in his _locker_ at _school_ – that's not exactly a good place to keep somethin' you don't want to get out. He's askin' for it, keepin' 'em stacked up like that."

Puck nodded in agreement, "Fuck Rachel... I know you're a good person and everything, but you need to do this. For yourself and for all the rest of us."

Rachel just stared at him.

Brittany spoke up then, glancing between Santana and Rachel with wide eyes. "I don't want us to be mean..." she trailed off, placing her hands gently in her lap. "I saw how sad you were, San, and how sad Rachel was... I don't want anyone else to be so sad."

"I wasn't _sad_, Britt." Santana snapped, even though it was hardly Brittany's fault that she was feeling so on edge right now.

Finn spoke up then, taking the spot next to Rachel. "Well... we can't agree on this. So... who's for?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders, before he quickly threw his own monkey-arm into the air and waited for someone else to do the same. Santana, Puck, Lauren, Sam, Quinn and Mercedes quickly followed his motion, and the Latina turned victoriously to her girlfriend when she realised that they were seven against five.

Rachel's lips became a thin line once more. "That doesn't count!" she argued, stomping her foot into the floor. "I won't be a part of it! It's too – it's too... _mean_!"

"Rachel decides this for us." Tina said again, nodding her head towards the distressed diva in their midst. "This is about all of us, but it's mostly about her, because she's been bullied by Karofsky since she was a freshman, and she's gay, and there's her fathers, and... and she's our _leader_."

Groaning loudly, Quinn buried her head in her hands.

Puck sighed then, and turned to Rachel with a soft expression, "What're you gonna do 'bout the slushies then?"

Santana thought that this was crazy, she really fucking did. Rachel was being completely and utterly stupid right now. Gold had practically fallen into their laps, yet she refused to use it to their advantage? There was something so ridiculous about it, yet Rachel seemed adamant in her decision. The Latina most definitely wasn't happy, and she was going to make fucking sure that Rachel knew it, too. "You're a fucking moron, Tiny." she said, and she saw Brittany's eyes turn dramatically wide behind Rachel, while the diva gaped at her. "No. I _mean_ it. I love you, but you're a moron. This was supposed to be for us, and now, suddenly, it's for all the other gay students, too, and you're refusing to do something about it? I don't know if I'll let you do that."

"Well obviously Dave is acting out because he hasn't come to terms with who he is yet." the diva said, letting the insults slide right over her head, even though Santana could see in her eyes that they hit home, "As opposed to exposing him, we should help him instead, which is what Kurt has been trying to do, I suspect. Kurt is my friend, and I'm sure he'd do what I'm doing right now. And instead of threatening Dave, we should help him! Which is ultimately why I'm going to talk to him and propose that he come by my house for a heart-to-heart with my fathers."

Santana felt her mouth fall open as the last words left Rachel's mouth in the I-know-better-way that the diva liked to talk in so often. She could see on the others' faces that they thought Rachel had gone completely off the reservation as well. Mercedes even stifled a corny gasp followed by a hand on her mouth, and Finn just gaped at the tiny girl like a complete douche.

Lauren snorted, "I knew you were stupid Berry, but I didn't think you were _that_ stupid."

Puck added, "You're so naïve, Rachel, it's infuriating!" he stepped closer to her, placed his hands on her shoulders and gently shook her as if trying to squeeze some sense into her, "You think he'll shake your hand and thank you for the gesture? No fucking way! He's going to slushie you thrice a day for the rest of your high school career, and if you're lucky he won't beat you up!"

"Don't mess with him, Rachel." Sam added from his seat next to Quinn. "Karofsky's big, and he's... he's got a lot of temper."

Rachel simply shook her head at them. "Everyone can be reasoned with."

Quinn shot out of her seat then, striding across the floor to give it a go. Santana watched with curious eyes, hoping that at least one of her friends would be able to convince Rachel to do this, because the lesser she said in the matter, the better it would be afterwards for her and her girlfriend. "You're so damn frustrating, Rachel!" she hissed, "Everybody would do this if they had what we have. Don't you see that that's exactly what Jennifer did the minute she found Santana's phone? You're being stupid if you think that anyone would give you the same courtesy that you're giving one of your _biggest bullies_ right now!"

Rachel's lips disappeared into a thin line. "There's no need for you to yell, Quinn, and there's no need for us to stoop to their level of childishness."

Now, Santana had never been a very patient person, so she really believed she'd given Rachel a long line at this point, yet the other girl simply wasn't getting it. She was going to make her understand the power that they held right now, so she better act on it. "_Rachel_!" she firmly said, and when the other girl snapped her head to the side so their eyes could meet, she continued, "We're using those pictures, and we're giving those letters to Jewfro, and that's _final_."

The diva arched an eyebrow in her direction, before striding over in two long steps and pushing the Latina back gently with two fingers on each shoulder; it caught Santana completely off guard though, and the thin girl practically scrambled right into the row of chairs behind her. Rachel stared down at her. "We're not using those pictures, and _that's_ final." she firmly said, before turning on her heel to inform the rest of their friends of the next step. "We'll gather those magazines in, and I'll talk to Kurt about this. If – and only _if_ – Dave completely brushes me off will I give you the permission to hand those things over to Jacob. But I will be no part of that, if it happens. Is that okay?"

Tina nodded eagerly in her seat, while a few other mumbled low agreements, really not agreeing at all. But no one would go against Rachel if they couldn't convince her otherwise; this was her plan, and they'd all named her the leader when they signed on, which was why she had the power to make all the decisions right now (she'd fucking made them sign a confidentiality agreement with rules and restrictions, and Santana was willing to bet her new hair extensions that they all regretted it now). _All_ this hardly seemed fair, Santana thought, as she shot a glare in her girlfriend's direction.

"Good." Rachel clasped her hands together. "We should be ready for the next part of our plan come lunch break in fifteen minutes. I suggest everybody gets into positions. Brittany?" she turned to the ditzy blonde cheerleader, whose head shot up as she was addressed; she looked at her new friend in eager. "Are you ready for your part now?"

Brittany nodded, "Yup, I'm so, so, so, _so_ ready right now. I know exactly what to do!"

Rachel offered her a kind smile, before she reached up and placed her earpiece back into her ear, "Alright! So that's good. Puck? You ready too? The rest of us need to carry the things to my car and hurry to the Cheerios locker room. We should get going then."

And as everybody scrambled to gather their things together and pick up the magazines and letters to carry them to Rachel's Prius, Santana sat still in her seat and glared at everybody as they moved out of the choir room. She followed right in Artie's trail as he was the last one to roll out of the room, but as she passed Rachel, a tiny hand came to rest on her elbow, and she turned to the singer with a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach.

The look Rachel gave her almost broke her down, "I'm really disappointed in you." the diva whispered, before letting her fingers drop.

Her heart was almost in her throat as she hoarsely replied, "Likewise." before walking out of the room.

**x**

"_Approaching victim. Over." _Puck's whispered voice rung loud and clear over the radio, as the eleven people inside the Cheerios locker room were holding their breaths in anticipation.

Santana was standing behind a row of lockers, a few feet behind Quinn, who was sitting proudly on a bench with her legs crossed and that superior look on her face. Her blonde hair was swept back beautifully, and her fingers were perched on top of her knee; she gave off the aura of complete control, and everyone knew that this was the true HBIC persona shining right through when they needed it the most.

The Latina leered to the other side where Artie and Jewfro were waiting, all their gear ready for action. There were several cameras placed around the locker room, and somehow they'd manage to hide all cables, which Santana thought was pretty fucking awesome. If Jewfro didn't creep her out so much, she might've thanked him for this. Tina, Lauren and Mike were hiding behind the lockers on Quinn's right side, while Sam, Mercedes, Brittany and Finn where hiding behind the lockers on her left. Rachel was standing by the end wall, right behind the open door. Santana met her eyes above Quinn's shoulders, and the diva quickly looked away.

She didn't like the feeling in the pit of her stomach. They'd had arguments before, but this... this was nothing like those arguments. Because Rachel looked absolutely furious and hurt by her actions, and Santana felt so disappointed in the other girl, that she had no fucking idea what to do about it. She'd never been disappointed in anyone like that before, so it was an entirely new feeling. How were you supposed to make it feel better? She had no frigging clue. All she knew was that when their plan finally pulled through, she wouldn't even be able to enjoy it fully, because the ice-cold stares from Rachel would put a serious damper on her mood.

Rachel bent her head to reply to Puck's comment, "We're still waiting for subject number one to enter the locker room. You must discreetly await the signal before bringing the victim here, I repeat – you must wait for the signal!" she breathed out, as if to calm herself (Santana knew that she was nervous because it was a matter of minutes before the entire thing went down), "Over."

"_Roger and out._" Puck replied, before the line went dead.

Tina was clutching her bucket of slushie desperately as she kept glancing at the door. "This is going to be epic, guys!" she mumbled.

Santana glanced at the makeshift instalment that the guys had made in the ceiling this morning; it was loaded with icy corn syrup and Jennifer was about to get a nice sticky shower. Coach Sylvester had probably been in here, and she'd most likely seen everything, but still – she had let it be. Santana was so thankful that their normally mean coach was so kind to them right this instant.

Quinn glanced at Brittany, "What did you say to Jennifer, Britt?"

The tall girl seemed to think about it for a few seconds, before she replied, "I skipped down the hall, Q, just like Rachel told me to do, and then I met Jennifer by her locker, and she said 'hi Brittany' and I said 'hi Jennifer', and then I told her that it was very, very, _very_ important that she come here at twelve ten, because you needed to see her and talk to her about the Cheerios and that Coach Sylvester would be here too, except she's not really here, so that was a lie. But I know Jennifer's still coming, because she looked really scared that something was wrong. So she said 'thank you Brittany', and I said 'bye Jennifer' and then I skipped away and came right here."

"She'll be here soon then." Rachel reassured the other girl with a kind smile.

Sam swept his hair to the side and shot them all a brilliant grin. "I can't wait for this! We're gonna give Jennifer and Karofsky a taste of their own medicine!"

Brittany gave him a confused look, "Oh... but I thought we were gonna dump the slushies?"

Santana opened her mouth to try and explain to Brittany what that saying basically meant, but before she even managed to get a sound across her lips, Rachel's eyes turned wide and she motioned for everyone to be quiet. Santana crept into hiding fully, while Rachel slipped up against the wall, her lips thin and barely visible. Everyone held their breaths as Jennifer crept through the door, clearly very concerned about why Quinn needed to see her at this time of day.

"You wanted to see me?" she asked, trying to show off a cocky side, even though she was most likely shaking in her spanks.

Quinn gave a slight nod and got off of the bench with a bunch of grace. "I did want to see you. We need to talk, Connelly." she firmly said, and just like that, her eyes shot lightnings, and Jennifer knew she meant business. "I can't say I've cared much for your attitude lately."

Jennifer bit her lip. "Is this about Santana? I'm sorry, Q, but I'm just not comfortable changing with her now that I know she likes other girls!"

The head-cheerleader snorted. "Please, as if Santana would ever look your way. She has far better taste than that, and furthermore, she has a girlfriend that she loves _very_ much." the girl snapped, and Santana felt herself smile because damn right, that was the truth.

The other girl wrinkled her nose. "_RuPaul_? She's hardly female!"

"Don't talk that way about Rachel." Quinn quickly hissed, placing her hands on her hips and somehow looking down at the other girl, even if she was a few inches lower. "In fact, don't ever talk that way about anyone. The Cheerios is a squad that accepts everyone for who they are, we love minorities. And the fact that you've been fighting so hard against everything lately makes me question whether or not you're really a team-player."

Jennifer's eyes turned wide when she realised which way this conversation was going, "I'm a team-player!" she quickly tried to reassure her, and the desperation was evident in her voice.

Quinn cocked an eyebrow in the way that only she was able to. "No you're not." she firmly said, closing this discussion as quickly as it begun, "I can't have that kind of poison around on my team. We need to be there for each other if we want to win Regionals next weekend. Santana is a lesbian, Jennifer. And you know what? That doesn't set her apart from you, it makes her stronger because she's going to face _idiots_ like you every God-damned day! But love is love, and we're not going to treat her any differently. At least she's proud to admit to everyone that she's happy and in love, and not like, let's say, only writing creepy love poems in secret-"

Santana hid her snort in the back of her hand while Jennifer's eyes seemed to bulge out of her head. _Damn you, Q, you had to throw that one in there, didn't you? _

"-and I fucking respect that. Love knows no boundaries whatsoever. You're a negative addition to my team, Connelly, and I can't work with that. So you're off the squad. With Coach Sylvester's blessing, got it myself this morning. And you're going to leave Rachel and Santana alone, because I know a few things you'd really rather not have made public, right Mrs. Finn Hudson? Oh. And if you do decide to go against my wishes, you answer to the entire Glee Club." she tilted her head to the side, before finishing, "Because we're a team who knows how to be there for each other."

Jennifer's eyes were wide and round as she gaped at her head-cheerleader, well... her _former_ head-cheerleader. "I – I... but Q, I -!" she couldn't even get a word across her lips, and Quinn smiled smugly at her.

Stepping out from behind the locker, Santana hid the plastic cup behind her back and stepped closer to the other girl. "Thanks for nothing, Bitch." she said, before she – fuck yeah! - reached out and threw the entire cup of corn syrup right into the other girl's face.

Jennifer blinked rapidly as she flinched and shrieked, but when she turned around to get out of the room and leave with at least a bit of dignity, Quinn's cold voice stopped her in her tracks. "You're not done yet. I still need your uniform, and you know what? I need it _right now_."

The younger girl looked like a deer caught in the headlights as she stared at Quinn in disbelief. "You- you don't mean-?" she motioned towards her uniform, thinking that they certainly didn't want her to strip right this instant and walk down the halls in nothing, but Santana had to admit that, _of course_, that was what they wanted. Coach Sylvester could be ruthless when she kicked someone off the squad, but she'd never been that cruel. Jennifer fucking deserved it though, and the Latina was enjoying every minute of it.

She took a threatening step closer to the girl, "The uniform's already stained. So get movin', Kiddo."

Gulping, the blonde girl slowly started pulling her skirt down. Quinn was absolutely enjoying every minute of this as well, Santana could tell; she loved this kind of power, the power were other people feared her for who she was, and also admired her for the way she decided to rule her squad, and – most importantly – this school. As the skirt fell to the floor, Jennifer whimpered and stepped out of it, reaching to pull the top above her bleach blonde hair.

Santana thought it could have been fucking hilarious if they'd actually decided that she needed to strip down all the way, but Rachel had been very clear on the fact that she didn't want anyone else to go through what she'd been through with her naked chest. The Latina believed it would only have been fair, but Rachel had been adamant about this one, too. That was her girlfriend though – she had such high fucking morals!

As the wet shirt hit the ground with a splash, leaving Jennifer in nothing but her spanks and training bar, Puck came through the open doorway with Karofsky in tow. Jennifer looked utterly surprised and confused at this new addition in the locker room, and quickly tried to cover herself up with her hands. Puck pushed Karofsky onto the middle of the floor then, before he stepped over and took his spot next to Quinn and Santana. When Rachel stepped out and the door smacked close, both Karofsky and Jennifer – who were both silent in stunned confusion – turned around and looked at her.

"What the fuck?" Karofsky growled, turning his head to Puck, "I thought you said you had some dip I could buy?"

Puck smirked at him. "I fucking lied."

Santana gave him a hard stare; oh, she was going to enjoy this. Enjoy throwing everything right back at him. For the one slushie he gave her, for all the slushies he'd thrown at Rachel throughout time, and for all of the slushies the other Gleeks had received from him. He was going to regret the day he picked up that first plastic up and thought he'd join in on the fun! "We need to talk to you too, _Dave_, because we've grown fucking tired of you and your crass comments!"

Karofsky huffed. "Well, you're asking for it, joining Homo Explosion."

Quinn arched an eyebrow. "You talking about homosexuals now? _Really_?" she questioned him, and even though she didn't say it, even though she didn't actually insinuate _anything_, or admit that they knew _something_, Karofsky was certain that they did. Because the tone of her voice? It said everything. That was the brilliant thing about Quinn.

And it left Karofsky speechless.

"The both of you," Santana continued, stepping around the two people to join Rachel by the other wall, "you've messed with us too many times." she placed an arm around Rachel, because that was what they were supposed to do, even though she was pretty sure that it wasn't okay with the way that they'd left things in the choir room, "Rachel's my girlfriend. I love her. We're gay,_ lesbians_. And that's fucking okay, at least we're not snotty rich brats, or bullies who are too afraid to be themselves!"

Rachel gave a slight nod. "Yes, and we're tired of having to deal with people like you everyday. Exposing us, it was taking it one step too far, Jennifer, and you can be sure to know that you'll be adequately paid back for that. And Dave?" she questioned, tilting her head to the side, as the big football player stared at her with hatred in his eyes, "You know what? I think I get why you're so mean all the time, I do. It doesn't make it right, but I get it. And I'll be talking to you about that soon. But first? We really need to pay you back as well."

And with those words, someone – Santana wasn't even sure who it was – pulled the string behind the lockers, and before Jennifer or Karofsky knew what hit them (and this was actually literally speaking), a shitload of rainbow coloured slushie fell from the ceiling, right onto their heads. It was epic, it was – it was fucking fantastic! Santana could practically see the way that Jennifer's lower lip quivered when she realised what was happening, and how she lifted her arms to protect her head, even though her body was at the total mercy of the corn syrup. Karofsky took it all like a man, he didn't say a word, he didn't even move, he just let the cold ice wash over him from above.

As soon as the slushie was done falling, Jennifer's tear-stained face turned towards Santana, and with a tremble, she moved to rush out of the locker room. However, since the entire floor was covered in ice, she slipped in her white sneakers and fell to the ground with a loud smack. Karofsky had the curtsey to pull her up and give her a steady arm, before he turned to Santana with a harsh look in his eyes.

"Fucking dyke! You're gonna pay for this! All you freaks deserve the slushies you get – I don't!" he hissed, "I'm on the fucking _football team_!"

Mike stepped out from the lockers then, carrying a plastic cup in his hand. "So am I. I've been slushied, too. By _you_." he finished, before he threw the red ice into his face. And after that, one by one, the Gleeks stepped out from behind the lockers and paid them back. Tina's bucket of slushie hit Karofsky straight in the face, yet he didn't even move. There was something so strange and odd about the entire thing – as if Karofsky had realised that he might as well take it; that there was no way in hell he was going to get out of this before they were done.

And _when_ they were done, Artie wheeled himself forward and looked at them through his glasses. "And just to make sure that this situation is entirely equal, I think it's safe to say that all _this_," he glanced around the room, "will be posted on Jacob Ben-Israel's blog before the day is over."

Finn grinned and high-fived him, "Along with some _very_ disturbing love poems." he chuckled, "And no, I don't like you, Jennifer."

"Why are you doing all of this?" Jennifer questioned, turning her head from one side to another, to glare at all of the people inside the room. "Why are you helping them? Why do you _care_? It's just _Treasure Trial_ and _Lopez_." she shuddered, "You hated _her_, and _she_ treated you awfully. Why do you care?"

Mercedes gave her a crooked smile, "Real friends stick together, and they're there for each other."

Brittany nodded and gave the black girl a half-arm hug, "We learned that in Glee Club."

"Yeah!" Sam added with a firm fist in the air.

"And that's the way the Cheerios are supposed to work too, Connelly."

Santana's head whipped to the side towards the voice in the doorway, and she drew in a long breath when she realised that Coach Sylvester had just pushed the door open and was joining in on the fun. She gave both Karofsky and Jennifer a displeased look as she wrinkled her nose, before making a big deal of walking in a large circle around Rachel. She stopped in front of Quinn and gave her head-cheerleader a nod; it seemed like almost nothing, but to Quinn, Brittany and Santana, it meant everything. It meant that they'd done _good_.

"Q, B, _S_." she said, before turning around on her heel to glare at Jennifer; her hands were on her hips as she stared down at her from above, "Connelly," she started, "I think I need to tell you that you're off the team. As if that wasn't obvious." she glanced towards the ground where the slushie was lying in heaps of coloured ice, slowly melting into nothing, though it was remarkable how well it'd kept itself since that morning, "And like my head-cheerleader just said to you, we are a team who are there for each other. That's why you're off." she glanced at the pathetic girl and frowned, "You can keep your bra and spanks by the way, don't want 'em back, they smell hideously of mediocrity by now."

With those words, she strutted across the floor, somehow managing to do so without slipping and falling flat on her face. When she was halfway out the door, she stopped though, and turned to give Karofsky a look, "You, abnormally big football idiot, you clean this up. That's an _order._" she hissed, before she turned around the corner, and was out of sight.

An eerie silence followed after her little performance, but as a few seconds passed, and Santana's eyes locked with first Puck's, then Quinn's, then Brittany's, she broke out laughing, and it didn't take many seconds before everyone – except Karofsky and Jennifer – followed right along with her. As soon as everyone was laughing on their expense, the two of them somehow managed to make their way out of the locker room, both shaking profusely from the cold, and Karofsky moaning curses beneath his breath. When they were out of sight, everyone somehow broke into a giant cheer and threw their arms around each other.

In the heat of the moment, Santana couldn't deny the giant butterflies in her stomach, and she turned around to wrap her arms tightly around the little brunette by her side. She squeezed her tightly, as they sort of jumped up and down in happiness, and even though they were supposedly mad at each other, Rachel didn't seem to mind much either. So when Santana pulled back, she placed a lingering kiss on the diva's lips, before she turned around and wrapped her two best friends in a hug, and Rachel flew right into Puck's arms.

It was fucking amazing, Santana had to admit that. Something as simple as this, and it could make such a difference. By tomorrow, that freaky Jacob would have posted the poems and the recordings on his website, and everyone would see Karofsky and Jennifer get seriously humiliated. Nothing would ever be the same at this school; of course things would never be all love and rainbows, but they'd be remarkably better now that these two people were put in place. Santana knew there was till Azimio as well, and all of the others morons, but damn... she couldn't help but think that _now_ things were finally going to start being truly okay again.

Operation Golf Lima Echo Echo Kilo Sierra was finished, and with one helluva result.

"Who wants to skip and get ice cream!" Sam cheered, as he pumped his arms into the air, his beloved crowbar clenched in his right fist.

Mike gave him a pad on the shoulder, "You really love that crowbar, don't you?"

Sam couldn't keep the grin off his face, "I do, yeah, I really do."

All of them laughed, as they followed the two boys out of the locker room and Rachel didn't even protest, when they drove five cars to the mall to get ice cream instead of attending classes. And she didn't even get angry at Finn and Brittany when they broke two of her radios while they tried to spy on the old lady at the food court.

Santana glanced across the table as she munched on her Oreo Blizzard, and there, she caught her girlfriend's playful gaze. Life was fucking _good_.

* * *

_This chapter was a bit more serious. I couldn't exactly keep up with the playfulness of the former chapter when dealing with the issue of Karofsky. The next chapter should be the school's reaction to everything, plus... Rachel comes up with something crazy that REALLY surprises and annoys Santana. For let's just say, even though they're happy now because their plan carried through, Rachel's not exacted thrilled with the way that Santana wanted to handle the matter of Karofsky... _

_I know a lot of you will probably think that Rachel's being stupid for that, but I really believe that she'd never expose anyone like that. She simply just wouldn't. Santana though... she wouldn't care at all. So I hope you like the little conflict I've created here – and no worries, it's not going to be a REAL problem for the girls ;-) _

_Oh. And I decided that Karofsky was pretty much going to take it like a man because... well, because Quinn hinted that they all knew something, and I don't think he'd be stupid enough to pick a fight with them when he's all alone. So yeah, that's my reasons for his unusually cool temper that lead to no violence whatsoever. _

_Thank you so much for all the awesome love and support that you guys keep showering me with. It means the world to me, it really does. It makes me want to write faster and do better, because you all deserve the best chapters that I can give to you. You guys are the best!_

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or RENT. _


	22. No Way Can I Be What I'm Not

**Chapter Twenty Two **

**No Way Can I Be What I'm Not**

"You have _got_ to be fucking kidding me!"

Arching an eyebrow, Rachel huffed and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "No Santana, I'm not kidding. In fact, I'm quite _serious_." she firmly said, staring at the Latina with a look that said the she was ready to fight.

Santana rolled her eyes and turned her head away from her girlfriend, to look at the red-headed guidance counsellor who was sitting in front of them, at the other side of the damn table, looking at them with her wide, deer eyes and a slightly tilted head. Emma Pillsbury-Howell was – by all means – the worst guidance counsellor Santana had ever heard of, yet there they were, sitting in front of her, because _Rachel_ wanted them to. Oh fucking hell to the no. Santana was not down with that.

She glared back at the tiny diva, "Oh hell no!" she mumbled, "There's no way in fucking hell I'm going to sit here and go through this with you, Rachel. I have no idea what we're even doing here."

All she'd received was a text from Rachel, telling her to meet her outside of the school a good forty five minutes before homeroom. She hadn't thought that was strange at all, because it seemed like they'd been good after everything that happened with Karofsky and Jennifer, but now... now there they fucking were, sitting in front of Mrs. Pillsbury-Howell, so something was telling her that _maybe_ things weren't as great as she'd thought they were. _Why the fuck not_?

"Uh Santana, uh-" Mrs. Pillsbury-Howell broke in, scrunching her nose up in a weird imitation of a rabbit, "-I think that Rachel just thought it would, uh I don't know, be a good idea to talk about your problems."

"We don't have problems." Santana harshly replied, before looking at Rachel once more, "We don't have problems, Rach! We're good, we've always been good. I don't get this shit, it's a waste of time."

Rachel shot an apologetic look in Mrs. Pillsbury-Howell's direction before turning to Santana, her big eyes turning even bigger. "You haven't even got the slightest inkling as to why I asked you to join me at this session?" she questioned, without even blinking once.

The Latina groaned, "No, I haven't got the slightest fucking inkling." she replied mockingly. Somewhere beneath the surface she was very aware that she wasn't being all that fair right now, but fuck it, if Rachel thought she could just drag her in there and throw a bomb like this at her, then she seriously had something wrong! If she had fucking bothered to ask her, then Santana would have told her that no way in hell would they spend their time with Emma Pillsbury-Howell, when they could get their mack on before class. Maybe she could have _considered_ it – if she'd known what the fuck was wrong, but she had no fucking clue!

The little diva looked offended by the mockery and turned to the teacher with a huff, "_See_? See what I have to deal with? It's okay, I get it, I do, it's who Santana is, and she masquerades everything with mockery, sarcasm and verbal attacks by using too many curse words!" the diva brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear and continued to speak, "I can deal with that, the fact that she's so emotionally incapable is one of the things I love about her, because when she does show her feelings, it's always incredible. But I _can't_ deal with the fact that she so blatantly disregards _other_ people's feelings!"

Mrs. Pillsbury-Howell was about to reply back to Rachel in her annoyingly soft voice, but Santana butted in before she even had the chance (she was so not sitting there and listening to this!), "You call me emotionally incapable? That's never bothered you before." she said, glaring at her girlfriend, "I mean – you know this about me."

"Yes!" Rachel added, nodding her head wildly, "I do Santana, and if you'd just listen to me, you would have heard that I said that I do love that about you. It makes you _you_."

Santana bit her lip; she didn't know whether to continue with her anger or to smile because Rachel was looking damn cute with her flushed face and the way that her chocolate orbs were focused so intensely on only the Latina right now. She settled for something in between then, turning her eyes to the ground, "Well... if you wouldn't talk so damn much all the time, Tiny..." she trailed off in a whisper, before letting her eyes meet Rachel's again and shooting her a sheepish grin (those grins _always_ worked on her girlfriend; she'd learned that pretty damn quickly).

Rachel let out a breathy chuckle. "Well I-" she cut herself off and leaned back in her chair, suddenly turning serious again, "No!" she hissed, pressing her palms to her bare thighs (hehehe, she looked fucking hot today; that jeans shirt was criminally short), "No, don't do that, Santana. Don't be all cute when I'm mad at you!"

Blinking, Santana said then, "Well, why are you mad at me? What did I do?"

_Is it about yesterday? Because if it is... I'm mad at you, too! _

"Rachel," Mrs. Pillsbury-Howell broke in, placing her tiny hand on the table in front of her, and calling their attention towards her, "do you think that perhaps you could, uhm, what do you say-?" she wrinkled her forehead, "-explain to Santana what it is that she's done, that's got you so mad at her?"

The brunette singer stared at their teacher in disbelief, "She already knows! And if she doesn't know, then I'm really not going to waste my valuable voice explaining it to her. She should know. If she knows me at all, she'd know."

Santana rolled her eyes in annoyance. For just a second there, she'd thought that her cuteness could do her work for her, but apparently she'd overestimated her abilities when it came to her girlfriend. "I do know you!" she argued, "I know you better than anyone, Rachel, and you fucking know it. But I haven't got a frigging clue as to what we're doing here right now."

Rachel glared at Santana and said, "This is about Dave!" she hissed, before turning her head to the other side, to stare at the wall.

Mrs. Pillsbury-Howell scrunched up her nose in confusion. "Dave?"

"Karofsky." Santana quickly explained, before focusing her attention towards the feisty singer in the chair next to hers. "And fuck, how can this be about _Karofsky _of all people?" she wanted to know. She was seriously confused right now – was Rachel, for real, mad at her over the entire thing with the gay magazines and the letters? Santana had had a feeling that it was going to be a problem, but man... Rachel was seriously making too big of a deal out of this!

The diva turned to Santana then, and even though her face was clouded with anger, one could clearly detect a hint of disappointment and something else in her eyes. "I can be." she whispered, and her voice cracked slightly, as she let her hands fall to her lap and breathed out. "Santana, you- you just... I can't believe you were just going to _out_ him." she shook her head to herself. "He's a person, he has feelings. No one deserves to be forced out of the closet that way. I won't claim to understand why he'd willingly stay in there, since I've always been a person who's open about my feelings, but regardless... It really disappointed me that you'd even consider it."

Her voice had gone so soft and little by the end of that speech – so very unlike Rachel Berry – that Santana felt her heart clench dramatically, and her breath hitch oddly in her throat. She was mad, she was!, because fuck it, Rachel worried too much about other people's feelings, but to see her so upset and torn up over it... that really bothered the Latina.

Santana swallowed loudly and glanced to the side, where Mrs. Pillsbury-Howell was watching them with wide eyes, while absent-mindedly rearranging the things on her desk. The Latina wasn't really sure why Rachel had thought that this conversation would be better had in the presence of the older woman, but apparently the diva thought that they had some things they couldn't just sort out themselves. Santana though, she believed that they could just as easily have had this conversation at home or something.

She shrugged her shoulders, "I know you worry about people, Rach, but fuck it!" she paused, "It's Karofsky we're talking about... he's been throwing slushies at you since middle school. And he egged your house and forked your front yard. He even wrote hate-messages in spray paint all over the fucking street and sidewalk in front of your house!"

Rachel heaved out deeply and nodded her head, "I know that, Baby, but... it doesn't change the fact that he doesn't deserve it."

The Latina sighed. There was no way in hell they'd ever agree on this matter. They were simply too different for it to be possible. But they could settle and agree to disagree. If Rachel would ever allow it. "I don't know what to say. I wanted to give him back for everything he's done to you, to _us_. And it really bothered me that you didn't want to."

"I'm really disappointed in you." Rachel whispered back to her, before shielding her eyes behind her bangs and jutting her jaw out.

Santana sighed again and leaned back in her seat; she stubbornly crossed her arms in front of her chest and raised one leg to rest above the knee. Jutting her chin out as well, she stared at their teacher expectantly.

Suddenly realising that she was apparently needed, Mrs. Pillsbury-Howell did a little jump, "Uh oh, you want me to say something-" she straightened her back and smoothed down the front of her dress shirt, "Uhm, why was it that you thought that it'd help you and Santana to come and talk to me?" she questioned Rachel then.

Rachel's expression softened a little because it was an authority figure speaking to her, and she straightened her posture. "I had an _obtuse_ feeling that if I were to question Santana about this matter in the presence of only us, I'd never receive a proper response. Like I told you before – she doesn't like to talk about feelings." she shot Santana a look, "Even the _word_ scares her."

"So," the guidance counsellor continued, "would you – would you say that that's a problem for you in your relationship?"

The diva shook her head. "Sometimes it can be, but generally it's not. Santana can be very loving when she wants to, but when discussing such matters as these she's not, and I feel it's of vital importance that she opens up to me about what she's thinking."

The Latina clenched her jaw; she couldn't believe they were talking about this shit with her! Mrs. Pillsbury-Howell knew nothing, and it wasn't going to help them to sit there in her office. It'd only make things worse. All she wanted was for them to be okay again – and was that really too much to ask for?

Mrs. Pillsbury-Howell turned to Santana then, "So, Santana, why do you find it so hard to talk about your feelings?"

Ignoring the giant lump in her throat, Santana refused to meet her eyes as she answered, "I just don't do that shit."

Turning in her chair, the teacher reached for one of her infamous pamphlets and placed it on the table in front of Santana, "If you want to, this is one of the pamphlets that I have, that maybe you could read. I think it would really help you, Santana." she kindly offered, shooting the cheerleader a little smile at the end.

Santana didn't want no damn pamphlet, but she took it nonetheless and glanced at the title: _So You Can't Talk About Your Feelings? _She groaned and resisted to roll her eyes. "Thing is though," she said, shooting a pointed glare in her girlfriend's direction, "this isn't about my inability to talk about feelings, because as we just stated, Rachel knows who I am – this is about the fact that she can't handle that I don't share her opinion on Karofsky and the fact that he's shitting rainbows."

Mrs. Pillsbury-Howell's eyes turned wide and she licked her lips quickly, "Uh oh well, I-"

Rachel cut her off, "Yes, Santana! You're absolutely right!" she argued, finally looking at the other girl again, "I don't get how you'd ever do that to another person, you know how it feels, Jennifer did it to us, and it wasn't particularly pleasant, now was it?"

The Latina shrugged her shoulders, "No, it wasn't, Tiny, but sometimes you have to worry about yourself before you worry about others."

"I just don't share that philosophy."

Santana could hardly keep herself from laughing, "Oh come on, Rachel! You worry more about yourself than anyone I know! Yes, you're sweet and you care for others, but as soon as it's got something to do with Glee, or musicals, or songs or competitions, you're right there, only caring for yourself..." Santana trailed off, and when she saw the wounded look in Rachel's eyes, she added, "And that's okay, Baby... everyone needs to care about themselves sometimes."

Rachel's expression softened a bit as she replied, "I still don't like the fact that you were so ready to do this to him. You of all people should have considered the repercussions."

Santana gave the other girl a slight nod and reached her hand out, to gently grasp Rachel's, which was lying on her bare thigh, "I'm sorry," she murmured, "I'm sorry I disappointed you. I guess we're just too different to agree on this, Baby. But we shouldn't let something as stupid as this get between us. It's Karofsky, and maybe it'll be okay, because he still got slushied pretty bad, and... maybe things will be _fine._"

Rachel sniffed loudly and gave Santana's hand a hard squeeze. "Thank you." she whispered, before leaning over in her chair, and wrapped her arms around the cheerleader's torso. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Santana replied, before pressing a hot kiss to the side of her head.

"Uh," Mrs. Pillsbury-Howell broke in at the end, effectively breaking the moment between the two girls, "now that I've got you here, I'd like to give you both some other pamphlets that I have." she gave them a smile and slid three pamphlets across the table.

And while Rachel gathered them in and continued to thank the teacher profusely, Santana chuckled to herself as she thought about the titles. _I'm a Girl and I Like Other Girls_ (yes, that was very evident!), _Oral Sex – Can It Still Get You Pregnant? _and _What Do I Say When My Parents Ask Me "Are You Gay?"? _

**x**

The entire day was a mess of strange episodes including whistles, compliments, negative comments and a lot of spiteful teasing from the entire student body. That was nothing new. Except... except for the first time in a week, Santana and Rachel weren't the ones getting teased.

Not even when they walked down the hallway between second and third period, their fingers intertwined, or when Santana pushed the diva against the locker to place a lingering kiss to her lips. No one battered an eyelash. Well, they did, but... for some reason, they seemed to be admiring them a lot more than hating them. Several Cheerios came up to Santana and applauded her for throwing that first slushie at Jennifer, while they also introduced themselves to Rachel, leaving the tinier girl in complete awe.

Other students – people none of them knew or shared classes with – came to tell them that they were right in giving Karofsky back for everything he'd done in the past, and when the jock finally showed himself at school, Rachel was watching with sad eyes while several of the people who used to help him slushie the people he deemed geeks, now made fun of him by commenting on the slushie bath that he had the day before.

Jennifer didn't even show up before right after lunch, and when she did, Santana had to do a double-take to make sure that it was – in fact – her, because she no longer spotted that familiar bleach blonde hair that they were all so used to. No, she'd dyed the entire thing darker, and Santana had a suspicion that the slushie might've done some nasty things to her hair the day before. She grinned wickedly at this thought.

The real fun begun though, when people started _really_ commenting on the video to her. There was nothing much for them to tease Karofsky about except the slushie, but with Jennifer... there was a whole lot more. Jacob Ben-Israel had posted the entire tape recording on his blog as soon as he got home that afternoon, and he'd edited it out nicely; there were several different angles, slow-motion, and he'd ever zoomed in on her face as the motherfucking slushie fell from above. Everyone even watched the girl get chewed out by Quinn, but thankfully Jewfro had been smart enough to leave out the part with Coach Sylvester, because Santana wasn't sure even _she'd_ be able to talk herself out of that one – seeing someone bully another student like that without interfering. The best part though – that was the poems that Jewfro had posted on his blog too, along with a nice article about Jennifer and her 'feelings' for one Finn Hudson.

All of the poems were public now, and people had been hitting that site up with comments all night long, and most of them were hilarious. And it was fucking awesome to walk down the hallways and hear a random reciting of one of the poems by a student to another student, as they made fun of her to each other, or even straight to her face. Puck also made a big show of walking down the hallway, strumming his guitar, while he 'sang' one of the poems out for everyone to hear.

Rachel's mood seemed to have lightened a great deal since that morning, and Santana found that it was hard not to be as happy as her girlfriend when things were going this well for them. The rest of the Gleeks had seemed bouncy and giddy – and _satisfied_ – all morning, too.

"Hey love-birds." Mercedes sang as she stopped next to Rachel's locker, Artie and Brittany in tow. "It's been a good morning so far, hasn't it?"

Rachel smiled warmly at the other girl, "It most certainly has, Mercedes!"

Brittany nodded in agreement, "People have been super nice to me all day. Are they being super nice to you guys, too?"

Santana wrapped an arm around her friend's waist and nuzzled her nose to Brittany's shoulder in a brief moment of affection with the other girl (neither Rachel nor Artie looked particularly phased by the action, which just showed how far everyone had come), "Everyone's being super nice to us, too, Britt." the Latina smiled, as she pulled back again, and quickly pulled Rachel in, so her shoulder was nestled inside her armpit, their bodies flush against each other, just as they were supposed to be.

Artie smiled warmly at them, "This has been one of the best days in McKinley High history. I really do believe that things are changing right now."

The diva smiled like someone had just handed her a Tony, "Yes! It do believe that our everyday life here at school will become much more bearable from now on."

Mercedes leaned in closer and arched a playful eyebrow, "Have you talked to Karofsky yet?"

Santana stiffened slightly at the mention of his name, but let Rachel speak for herself, because there was no way in hell she'd ever bring that dude up between them again. "Not yet, I haven't. But I spent my entire evening talking to Kurt and Blaine – we had an emergency-meeting at _Breadstix_ – and they told me everything about him and what happened. Even though Kurt warned me that Karofsky used to be violent with him, he still seems to believe, as I do, that we should try to help him instead. Maybe he'll benefit from it, who knows, we just agreed that someone has to try." she sighed heavily, a concerned look overtaking her features, "I'm going to tell him that he's welcome at my house. It's his choice whether he wants to take us up on the invitation or not."

Artie nodded in agreement, while Brittany just looked downright confused. Santana gave Rachel's shoulder a light squeeze, thereby showing her girlfriend that no matter the outcome – she had her back.

Some turmoil was heard down the hallway, and everybody turned their heads to the side, only to find Azimio and Karofsky making their way down the hallway, bulldozing their way through the students gathered there; some were brave enough to tease Karofsky about his slushie bath the day before, but he went all crazy on a sophomore boy earlier, and that'd sort of scared people off a bit.

"Speak of the devil..." Mercedes mumbled and pressed her back into the locker right next to Rachel.

The two huge football players were – very determinedly – making their way towards the group of five, but Santana could see that no slushies were present, so all it was going to come down to would be talk, and she could deal with that. She shot the jocks a harsh glare as they came to a halt in front of them, both looking way more superior than they should be.

"Oh look, it's the dykes and their nerdy friends." Azimio said, nudging Karofsky slightly in the shoulder.

The other guy looked a bit uncomfortable, and all he did was give his friend a short nod.

Azimio seemed pleased enough with that though, because he took a step closer to them, "It was a dumb move," he said, "slushing my boy like that. You are just two lessies who've somehow managed to get everyone onto their side." he huffed, "It's not gonna last forever though, soon enough they'll realise that you're all freaks." he spat at them, and then shot Rachel a pointed glare, "_Especially_ you, Berry. You've always been a freak. Figures, with the two daddies you have at home, there's no way in hell you'd ever end up normal."

Santana felt a sudden urge to rush forward and push the boy into the ground, before beating the shit out of him. No one – _no one_! - talked bad about Rachel. And not about Leroy and Hiram either, because those two men were the most amazing and happy people she'd ever met... And they were the most fantastic parents to a girl who'd turned out as one of the most caring and loving people this school would ever see. It just wasn't right for him to judge and call them names that way. And when Santana cared about someone, she protected them. Which was why she felt the need to bust Azimio's scull as he stood there, looking all smug and shit.

But she didn't even have time to consider what to do first, or how to hurt him the most. Before she'd ever managed to release Rachel from her grasp, the little diva had taken a step forward, and turned to Azimio with a determined look on her face. She pushed him firmly in the chest with one of her perfect midget fingers. "Hey!" she firmly said, her voice hovering octaves above all the other noise in the hallway, thus effectively getting all attention on them, "Don't talk about my family that way, and don't talk about things you have no knowledge of."

Azimio laughed at her, "What you gonna do about it... _lesbo_?"

Santana saw Artie and Mercedes exchange worried glances, and she sort of wanted to interfere, but she also wanted to see what Rachel was planning on doing. Because there was no way in fucking hell she'd just go forward and speak to him that way if she didn't have an idea as where she wanted it to go. She never acted on impulse that way; she always had a plan. So the Latina kept her place, her back pressed against the locker, and watched her girlfriend take a stand.

And the look on Rachel's face? One of pure satisfaction.

"Oh." she innocently said then, a fake smile making its way onto her face, "How's your _sister_, by the way? I miss her! You say hi to her from me. Ballet class is sort of boring without Amanda around." she winked at him, and Santana could not believe that she'd just gone there; wow, her girlfriend was turning more and more badass with each passing day! "I miss dancing with her, doing stretches... in our tight, _tight_ leotards. Not to mention the showers afterwards, those were always very pleasant."

'Wow,' Mercedes mouthed to Santana, her eyes going wide, 'she's got guts!'.

Santana nodded shortly, because she couldn't quite figure out if this was going to end well or not. Azimio's left eye was twitching wildly, and he looked like he wanted to kick someone's ass. But he wouldn't touch Rachel... would he?

"Don't," the big guy said, placing a giant hand on each of Rachel's shoulders and backing her into the locker, "talk about my sister that way."

Now Santana had had it. She'd been okay with the fact that Rachel had wanted to stand up for herself, and it had been going well, until this dude thrice her size started pushing her around. That's where Santana put her fucking foot down. Taking a step forward, she used all her strength to push the jock away and glare at him, "Don't _ever _push my girlfriend like that again." she firmly said, letting him know that she was serious, and that if he even considered it.. well, he was going to pay for it.

Azimio snorted and straightened up his back, suddenly uncomfortable with the audience that they had gathered, "Come on, man, let's leave the freaks alone."

Karofsky didn't reply, but he just turned to follow his best friend down the hallway. But as he turned the corner, Santana saw the lingering look he was throwing in their direction; there was no way she could deny it. And she knew that Rachel saw it, too.

"I'm going there tonight." Rachel whispered, before someone even managed to say anything or ask her if she was okay. "I'm going to his house tonight, and I'm taking Kurt and Blaine." she tilted her head to the side and gave Santana a questioning look, "Well you come, too?"

Oh, fuckety fucking fuck. She sort of had to, didn't she?

**x**

Santana sighed heavily as she and Rachel made their way into the diva's bedroom. She was so fucking tired, she just wanted to sleep for days – this last week had been exhausting, and it sure as hell didn't feel like it was only five days ago that everything was normal. So much had changed so fucking quickly, and the Latina was honestly having a hard time keeping up with all of it.

Rachel plopped onto her bed with a sigh as well, and pulled the cheerleader down on top of her. "That was awful." she mumbled, pressing her lips into Santana's mess of hair, as she snuggled closer and held her tight.

The taller girl couldn't agree more. Karofsky had been entirely angry with them, and he'd barely listened to a word they said as Rachel and Blaine had tried to reason with him. They'd been so kind, offering him help, promising to keep his secret, and all he'd done was go from quiet, to angry, to hostile, and Santana could tell that it worried her girlfriend that she wasn't getting through to him.

"I told you, Tiny..." she whispered, closing her eyes and nuzzling her nose into the crook of Rachel's neck, "I told you it'd be no use. But you're an amazing person for even trying."

Rachel's fingers were softly stroking down her back in a soothing motion, "I guess so. And at least I did get the message out there that he was very welcome to step by at any time! He still has that invitation, maybe he'll decide to use it in the future."

Santana highly doubted that, but she wasn't going to tell her girlfriend how she thought, because that'd just bring her down. "Maybe..." she murmured.

"Anyway." Rachel softly whispered, her voice light and caring, and exactly what Santana needed to hear after the week they'd had – this was the life, her and Rachel, alone, on a bed, just lying there. "Your birthday's next week, right Baby? What do you want to do that weekend – something special?"

The Latina had already discussed all of this with her parents, she just hadn't quite had time to inform Rachel of those plans yet. "I have Regionals with the Cheerios on Saturday," she explained, pulling slightly away to look Rachel in the eye, "and on Sunday the entire family is coming over for family brunch-slice-birthday party. My parents would really like it if you came – your fathers too."

A huge smile appeared on Rachel's face. "Really? Dad and Daddy are invited?"

Santana chuckled as she nodded her head.

"Great!" the diva laughed, "They'd be delighted to attend."

"And you're spending the night, of course." Santana continued to whisper, rubbing her nose affectionately against the other girl's, "I need myself some Berry on the night I turn eighteen!"

Rolling her eyes, Rachel pressed their lips together. "Sure you do. And I have to give you my birthday present for you anyway..." she trailed off in a playful manner.

The Latina chuckled as well, because she knew that Rachel wanted her to ask what she was getting her, but she wasn't going to give her the satisfaction, so she pretended not to be curious (even thought it was fucking killing her; she just _knew_ that Rachel's present for her was going to be amazing). "What about this weekend though? You busy again?"

Rachel nodded. "We're going to visit a couple that my fathers know. They're gay too, and they have a daughter my age. We used to vacation together, it's all one big... thing..." she shot an apologetic look in Santana's direction, "I really wanted to spend more time with you, Baby, but I _have _to go."

"Damnit..." Santana groaned, resting her chin on the diva's collarbone. "I miss you. I feel like we haven't really been us this week."

Reaching a hand out, the singer brushed a piece of Santana's hair away from her face and gave her a soft look. "I feel like we haven't either. It hasn't been much fun, has it?"

Santana smiled, "Oh, it was _fun_... humiliating Jennifer, doing that mission, but... I still missed _us._"

Rachel sighed. "Me too."

Turning over, the Latina took a glance at the clock on Rachel's bedside table and saw that it was only around eight thirty, yet she was tired like a fucking grandma. Still, she really could not believe that she'd rather sleep than do _anything_ else. She moaned, "We should probably fuck."

Raising a questionable eyebrow, Rachel murmured, "How do you figure that?"

"Your fathers are downstairs watching a movie where things blow up, are they not?" she asked, locking their eyes together, as Rachel watched her in amusement, "We should take advantage of that. Besides, it's only eight thirty, that leaves us plenty of time."

The diva tenderly reached a hand out and cupped Santana's cheek, "But you're tired, Baby." she whispered, before placing a light kiss to her lips, "And quite frankly, so am I."

"Oh..." the Latina murmured, rolling off of the diva to snuggle into her side, "That sounds _good_! I feel like I could sleep for days right now. And yes, I _do _know that it sounds pathetic, but I'm exhausted!"

Rachel chuckled and gently weaved her fingers through her hair, "Then let's just sleep..."

"Yeah..." Santana whispered, closing her eyes tightly, "let's just sleep."

* * *

_Thank you so much for tuning back in for more! I know this wasn't the longest chapter – I just had a few ends I needed to tie up before I could write the next part; which is a chapter I've been looking forward to! More of the Gleeks together for some fun :) I hope you liked this chapter though, despite the shortness. I hope to be able to update once more before the end of this week, but I'm not making any promises ;-) _

_Oh, and I was so happy to hear that you all liked the last chapter and the payback I had planned out for them – I really appreciate all the amazing support that you guys give me!_

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or RENT. _


	23. This Girl Satisfies

_**WARNING: **Sexy-times ahead – just sayin'. And uh, Puck's pretty crass in the last scene, too. You have been warned. _

**Chapter Twenty Three**

**This Girl Satisfies**

This was probably the most pathetic she'd been in a very long time.

Like. For _realz_. She was moping around the house, playing boardgames with Oscar and constantly checking her cell phone to see if any of her friends (and at this point, she would even have settled for frigging _Lauren Zizes_) would be answering her texts at all. But nope. Not a single fucking one of them had bothered to reply to her. And what was up with that anyway? She did realise that it'd been a while since she'd been actually _available_ on a Saturday afternoon (how many weekends in a row was it that she'd been with Rachel? She couldn't remember), but still. That didn't mean they couldn't make time for her when she actually _was_. Just sayin'.

What the fuck was one supposed to do when their girlfriend left town with her daddies? Santana had never really been in that position before, and she helped her mother make about fifty _Magdalenas_ to pass time. Seriously. That's how bored she was. And it was only three fucking thirty in the afternoon.

Tapping her fingers against her desk, she bit her lip and contemplated what to do next. It was really nice out today. The weather had been getting warmer and warmer this past week, and if she went for a run she'd be able to do it in shorts and a tank top. But ah... did she really want to? Going for a run seemed like so much _work_.

She almost jumped out of her office chair in surprise when her phone suddenly started buzzing and ringing from its spot on her bedside table. Flying across the room, she dove onto her bed and grabbed the device, pathetically happy that someone had finally bothered to reply to her. She really couldn't hide the grin though, when she saw Rachel's picture (it was still the one from when they went dress shopping for New Years... Santana wasn't a romantic, but fuck it, her girlfriend looked hot and that was, like, the time where they really _begun_) flash across the screen.

Turning onto her back, she eagerly greeted her girlfriend, "Hey Tiny!"

Giggling loudly on the other end, Rachel replied, "Hi Baby!"

"What's up?" Santana questioned, making herself comfortable in the massive amount of pillows that were thrown randomly on top of bed messy bed (Rachel hated her bed; she never made it, all the pillows just laid around everywhere in no particular order). She hoped that her girlfriend would have at least an hour to talk to her before she was summoned back to the lame get-together she was currently attending.

There was a lot of noise in the background, and she could hear Rachel say something to someone, before the voices faded and she replied back, "I miss you." she whispered, and Santana could hear the pout on her lips, "What are you up to?"

Working around the question because she really didn't want to appear as pathetic as she was, Santana asked, "Who are all those people in the background?"

"Oh..." Rachel trailed off, and Santana thought she heard some hesitance in her voice, "They're not... well, they're people, Baby." she lightly said, and without much time to breathe, continued, "What are you doing?"

Santana snorted. "Nothing. Apparently people don't want to hang out with me, because fuck, no one's replying to my awesome texts." she said. And she also _thought_ that Rachel was trying to hide something. Fuck yeah, she knew her girlfriend well enough to realise that over the frigging phone!

Rachel whispered, "I want to hang out with you."

The Latina couldn't help the giggle that escaped her throat and she rolled onto her stomach and kicked her feet into the air. "Really? Are you in a room alone right now?"

Rachel hesitantly replied. "Well..."

"Do you think I could finally persuade you into having phone-sex with me?"

"_Santana_!" the diva gasped, and the cheerleader could totally picture the appalled look that would evidently be covering her face right now.

_It was worth a short_, Santana mischievously thought, as she wrapped a piece of her hair around her finger and inspected the split ends. "So that's a no?"

Rachel huffed. "It most certainly is! There's people here, Baby!" she continued, and was – without a doubt – making sure that no one had heard them. "So what are you doing for the rest of the day? And tomorrow morning?"

Santana furrowed her brow to herself and tried to think of something, but seriously, she had no plans whatsoever, because Sunday brunch was out tomorrow, since everybody would be arriving next weekend for her birthday, and her mom had a night shift at the hospital, and let's face it, there was no Sunday brunch without Carla Lopez. "Nothing, absolutely nothing."

"Then why don't you come over to my house?" Rachel lowly whispered, her voice light and teasing.

The Latina stiffened for a second, "_Your house_? But... aren't you out of town?" she questioned, and suddenly, her heart was thumping madly in her chest, because fuck it, if Rachel had somehow talked her parents into letting her stay home, then, then they'd be _them_ for the entire weekend, and even though nothing like _that _could happen (it was that time of the month, which was probably why Santana felt more pissed than usual), it'd just be so nice to relax with Rachel and let the events of the week fade into nothing before they went back to school and had to deal with everything again.

Rachel laughed, "Well... just – just come to my house okay?"

Sitting up on her bed, Santana told her heart to calm down, but it simply wouldn't listen to her. "For realz?"

"Yes Baby, even though your grammar is horrendous, it is for _realz_." the diva mocked her. And there was a pregnant pause, before she added, "Just... dress warm, alright?"

"Warm?"

"Yes!" Rachel continued to say, and Santana felt fairly certain that she was nodding her head along on the other end of the phone, "You need to bring a jacket and maybe your beanie too. And just come out back when you get here."

Santana had no idea what the other girl was up to, but she wasn't going to question it. It just seemed like her weekend had taken a turn for the better, and there was no way in hell she was going to complain about _that_. "Alright..." she whispered, "I'll see you, I _guess_." she mumbled, before she hung up the phone and let the news sink in.

Rachel hadn't actually confirmed that she'd be there, but she had to be, right? She wouldn't just send Santana over there for no purpose whatsoever... Looking at the clothes she was wearing, Santana quickly scrambled off the bed to find something else to wear. Kicking off the loose jeans shorts she'd been lounging around in, she threw on a pair of black woollen panty-hose, before pulling the shorts back on. She found her Uggs as well, deciding that they'd most definitely keep her feet warm no matter what Rachel had planned. She also threw on an extra long-sleeved shirt, before she grabbed her letterman jacket and her beanie and pondered what more to bring.

She already had most of her essentials at Rachel's house because she spent so many fucking nights there. Deciding that it was okay, she grabbed her phone and her keys and bounced down the stairs. She kissed Oscar on the head and said goodbye to both her parents, before she flew out the door and tried not to pass the speed limit as she drove towards the Berry residence.

She couldn't help but wonder what her girlfriend was up to now, but she couldn't – by any means – figure it out. All she was pretty certain of was the fact that Rachel must have used the Berry pout on Leroy because it was the only way she could have convinced her parents to stay home. The pout didn't work as effectively on Hiram as it did Leroy, because Hiram often used it himself – so he was immune to it. But both Leroy and Santana herself were big piles of goo when their significant others decided to pull out all the stops by pouting. Santana found, Rachel could get her to do practically anything when she used the pout.

As she drove down their street, she was practically straining her neck as she tried to look forward, but imagine her surprise when she saw what she saw. In the Berry driveway, and scattered on the street outside the house, were several other cars; Puck's truck, Brittany's car, Kurt's Navigator and Mike's old wreck. Pulling her car to a stop behind Brittany's, Santana found herself thinking that this day had just gotten _a lot _weirder.

Grabbing her things though, she locked the car and instead of going for the front door, she went around the house towards the backyard, like Rachel had told her to do. As she pushed the small wooden gate open, she paused and held her breath. There were warm chatter and laughter coming from the backyard, and she was fairly certain she could hear the recognizable strum of a guitar. And... was that smoke she saw spiralling into the sky? Peeking around the house, Santana could hardly hide her surprise at what she saw – there, in the middle of the Berry backyard, gathered around a fire, sat the entirety of New Directions, plus Kurt and Blaine.

A giant smile lit up Rachel's face when she realised Santana was there. "Surprise Baby!" she cheered, before she went around the circle and wrapped her arms around the Latina.

Santana squeezed her girlfriend tightly as she met Quinn's eyes above Rachel's shoulder; the head-Cheerio was smirking at her, and Santana just knew that this had been her idea and that she and Rachel had had this planned for a while (well, probably since yesterday anyway). "I thought you were going with your fathers?" Santana whispered, pressing her lips to Rachel's. It was so fucking nice to _see_ her again.

The diva grabbed her hand and linked their fingers together, as she pulled her towards the small fire. "Well, I explained to Dad and Daddy that you and I both needed some time together after everything that happened this week. Quinn then proposed to me that even though it'd be nice for the two of us to be only us, that maybe we should use this golden opportunity to have some Glee-togetherness. Noah made a fire and we have food ready and come bedtime everyone's just going to crash inside the house."

A chorus of hellos greeted her as Santana took a seat between Quinn and Puck, and pulled Rachel down to sit between her legs. Everyone looked so cosy and happy; Artie was sitting in his wheelchair, roasting several marshmallows on a stick, and Santana could tell that he was making s'mores, because Brittany had pink goo and chocolate all over her face and fingers, and she was looking all hopped up on sugar as she sat next to her boyfriend. The guys were drinking beers, and Finn was attending towards about three dozens of sausages on the fire as well, while Mercedes was trying to make twistbread for everybody. There was chatter amongst everyone, and it looked so goddamn nice, that Santana couldn't help but admit that... she might... possibly, really... _care_ about all of these idiots.

She pressed another kiss to Rachel's face and bent her head to whisper in her ear, "This is nice Tiny."

Rachel's smile was brilliant. "I'm glad. We wanted to surprise you, Quinn and I."

Glancing towards her best friend, Santana arched an eyebrow, "Since when are you two so good friends?"

Quinn glanced at Rachel briefly, and the two shared a look, before her eyes met Santana's again, "We've come to an understanding." the blonde girl replied, before raising her wine cooler to her lips and taking a long sip.

"Can I have a s'more too?" Tina demanded from two seats over, and Santana chuckled when Artie threw her one, and Mike tried to catch it, but it landed in his lap instead.

Kurt was sitting awfully close to Blaine, and the Latina had a feeling that the two might have reached a new state in their relationship, even though they hadn't told anyone. But there was something between them, and Santana knew she was hardly ever wrong about these sort of things. She nudged Rachel in the side and subtly nodded her head in their direction, and the diva raised a finger to her lips with a mischievous glint in her eye. Oh, so they'd told her, apparently.

"We should do real bonfire activities!" Sam suddenly said, causing everyone to turn to look at him. "I mean, we should do games and stuff. It won't be drunken Truth or Dare since we're just being cosy, but still – it'll be fun."

Puck shot him a glare, "Bonfire activities? Man, I've been playing this damn guitar for two hours straight, and my fingers are hurtin'. If this is not a bonfire activity, tell me what the fuck is."

Rachel reached a hand out and placed it on top of Puck's on the guitar, thus cutting off the music, "I can take over for you, Noah, all you have to do is say so."

"Enough with the music for now!" Mercedes said then, throwing breads around the fire, for those who wanted them. Santana caught one and took a bite, before offering it to Rachel. "What I wanna know is _something else_," the black diva continued, "I mean – I get it, you guys, you're together now," she smiled at Rachel and Santana, "but I still think a lot of us are damn curious. How – and more importantly _when_ – did this happen?"

Tina nodded in agreement, "Yeah, everything happened so fast after you guys came out, none of us really knows how you guys got together."

Santana rolled her eyes, "None of your goddamn business, Stutters. Not yours either, Wheezy."

"Lopez, you better tell us, 'cuz we've been helping your skinny ass all week." Lauren butted in, before grabbing a sausage from the grill. "You have some ketchup, Berry?"

"In the kitchen..." Rachel trailed off, before getting off the ground, "I'm just going to find us more to drink as well. And I'll get my guitar." she kissed Santana on the cheek, before she turned and went for the glass door into the living room.

Finn gave Santana a sideways smile, "Come on then, Santana, tell us." he said, and Santana fucking wanted to, because he wasn't even angry with her, and he didn't look jealous, and all of these people around that stupid bonfire were just _happy_ for her, just happy. None of them judged her, and they all wanted to be there for her.

She scratched her cheek and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, we just... it just happened, I guess."

"_When_?" Kurt excitedly questioned.

The Latina furrowed her brow and tried to go back in time to pinpoint the exact moment where it changed, but she couldn't be certain. It just sort of crept up on her and suddenly there was no turning back. "I'm not really sure..." she trailed off, "At first we were just hanging out, and she was still an annoying midget and stuff, but then suddenly she was a _cute_, annoying midget and then we had this thing were we, you know, kissed, like, a lot, and suddenly, before I knew what was happening, I was singing songs and making a complete fool out of myself in front of you stupid losers."

Quinn huffed next to her, and Blaine looked absolutely appalled (he still didn't speak Santana fluently; all he really needed was to take out all the curse-words, but he hadn't figured that one out yet).

"So when did you first kiss?" Brittany whispered, even though she barely managed to open her mouth because her lips were almost glued together with marshmallows.

"We kissed at New Years." Rachel replied, as she made her way outside, her guitar slung over one shoulder and a picnic basket filled with bottles over one arm. She handed Lauren the ketchup and sat down with Santana again as she opened up a bottle of Corona for her, "It wasn't really meant to be anything because it was just a kiss because of New Years."

"So when did it mean anything?" Mercedes wanted to know; as always eager to get more gossip.

Rachel's smile was bright when she replied, "We hardly want to be cliché, but we were both very drunk after a get-together at Noah's, and Santana was walking me home and there was this moment of realisation, and suddenly we were kissing, and the next day, we were kissing some more, and things sort of escalated from there."

Kurt squealed in enjoyment and clapped his hands together, while Mercedes looked slightly disappointed that it hadn't been more romantic in any way. Santana knew though, that it had been perfect for them; the road there hadn't been easy for either of them (especially her), and it had taken a long time before she'd been comfortable enough to be true to herself. But damn... it felt so nice to finally just be honest about everything. And it felt even more fucking nice to have Rachel in her arms whenever she wanted to.

She wrapped her arms tightly around her girlfriend and rested her head on her shoulder as she said, "Look losers, can we not talk about our relationship like this? How about one of those bonfire games instead?"

Sam immediately lit up, and as everybody started arguing over which game to play, Santana enjoyed the moment in complete silence. Her clothes were going to reek of smoke, and she might possibly have to exercise more than usually in the following week due to all the carbs she'd undoubtedly eat, but fuck it... this was going to be an _awesome_ evening.

They eventually settled on Truth or Dare, and people went in and out of the game as they pleased, while they ate and drank and had a shitload of fun. The night settled in comfortably around them, and soon, the only light in their little circle was the fire in their midst, and Tina was giggling uncontrollably because of all the beer she'd had, while Finn looked drowsy as he tried to keep his eyes open. Santana was happy she'd brought her beanie, because it was nice around the ears, and Rachel really loved it when she wore a hat like that.

"A song!" Brittany suddenly said, clapping her hands together, "We need a song, guys! We're a _Glee Club_, we sing!"

Mike raised a hand into the air, "Yeah! We need a song, guys!"

Laughing, Puck grabbed his guitar and motioned for Rachel to do the same, "You' thinkin' what I'm thinkin', Rach?" he questioned, arching an eyebrow to her.

Giggling, Rachel strummed her fingers across her guitar and Mercedes awed in appreciation (she'd had her fair share of beers, too). "You know how it goes." Rachel said, before the first chords of an unfamiliar song started soaring in the chilly night air, and everybody turned their gazes towards the two of them, as Puck strummed his guitar too, and easily fell into step with Rachel.

Opening his mouth, Puck sang the first verse in his heart-melting baritone voice.

_Everytime I see you  
I wanna be with you  
and every time I'm with you  
Don't wanna let you go,  
No no no_

Santana thought that she'd heard this song before, but she wasn't quite sure what the lyrics were, except that it was a love song, and that it had a happy tune that easily fitted the mood they'd all been in since she came. Tina and Mike had their arms wrapped around each other, and Mercedes and Finn were making mock-love faces to each other as Rachel glanced a Puck through the shield of her hair, and joined in on the next part of the song.

_To all the rivers have run dry  
and all the birds forget how to fly  
I only hope you know  
I'm hopeless without you_

Their voices blended so effortlessly together, and Santana had always thought that they sounded even nicer than Finn and Rachel did, when they duetted. There was just something about Rachel and Puck that fitted, and the Latina was just thankful that she'd managed to win Rachel over, because otherwise there would most likely have been a repeat performance of the Puckleberry romance from last year. Thankfully though, she had Rachel now, and she wasn't going to let anyone take her away, because... because she loved her. And she sometimes couldn't believe how lucky she was.

This, this awesome person who had the future in her hands, she was always there for her, whenever things went bad, and there was nothing Santana thought she could do about it. Just the sight of Rachel, and everything would feel a little bit better. Heck, even just a text message with a smiley face, and Santana would be smiling because that was how whipped she was.

She couldn't... she couldn't imagine her life without the diva. Not anymore.

Especially not because the other girl did things for her; like preparing this night so all the bad things would just go away for a while, and – and helping her work through one of the most horrible experiences in her life. She could even calm her down when she wanted to rip someone's head off. And she did sweet things, like playing with Oscar and writing a beautiful song for her, and – and... looking her her, like right now, with so much love in her eyes, and a sheepish smile on her face, as she sang the next lines, and Santana just _knew_that she meant them more than anything.

_Everytime I'm with you  
I only want to kiss you  
and everytime I kiss you  
my heart goes luptiloo, yeah..._

_Everytime you hold me close  
I only hope you know  
What only you can do  
Whenever I see you _

And as Puck strummed his guitar a little harder, everybody joined in on the 'la la la's that came afterwards; even Santana, who sang them softly while glancing at the girl in the owl sweater, who was sitting right next to her, illuminated by the fire, and the stars from the sky. She'd never seen anything more beautiful, more perfect in this world.

Their eyes locked, and Santana felt her heart skip a little beat, and she just knew that it went 'luptiloo' everytime she was with Rachel, too. And she knew that the diva knew it, as well. She had tried to hide it, but when something overwhelms you so much, it's just impossible not to let it show.

_Everytime I'm with you  
I only want to kiss you  
and everytime I kiss you  
my heart goes luptiloo, whoa whoa.. _

It was so fucking nice, being like this with all of these losers (she still couldn't really get herself to call them her _friends_), and everybody had somebody, except Finn and Mercedes, but Santana was pretty sure that it wouldn't be long before the both of them met someone, someone who'd love them exactly like Rachel loved her. Everybody deserved that, especially these people. Because these people... these people were awesome people.

Santana smiled when she saw Brittany's hand sneak its way onto Artie's lap, so their fingers could intertwine, and she smiled even wider when she saw Quinn snuggle into Sam's side with a contend look on her face as he held her close and kissed her blonde hair. She could see Lauren gaze happily at Puck as he played, and even though the wrestler would never admit it, it was pretty clear to everybody that she had it bad for Puck when it came down to it.

Her gaze moved back to Rachel, and the diva grinned wickedly at her with love shining out of her chocolate orbs.

_And everytime you hold me close  
I only hope you know  
What only you can do  
Whenever I see you _

As the song faded out, everybody joined in on the 'la la la's again, and Kurt pulled Mercedes onto the grass, and the two started doing a funny waltz around the circle; so out of tune, and so out of context, but it got the rest of them laughing, and the two of them out of breath until they fell to the grass again, breathing heavily.

"Man, that was some dance, boy!" Mercedes whispered.

Kurt nodded in agreement and fanned himself, "I'm so hot!"

Quinn poked her head up from Sam's shoulder and said, "It's getting colder though, we better get inside."

A series of complaints followed her statement, but Rachel set her guitar aside and agreed, "It's true, guys, none of us can afford to get sick right now, we have Regionals coming up!" she smiled happily at them, "We should go into the basement instead... we can watch a movie."

Finn shrugged his shoulders. "I'm cool with that, as long as it's not a musical. Not _even_ the one with the lesbians."

"_RENT_?" Santana laughed, "Yeah, she made me watch that one too."

"It's an epic musical, and Idina Menzel is particularly gorgeous." Rachel defended herself, as she stood up to stretch out her back. Puck was already trying to get the fire out with the hose from the terrace, so they all took a step back so they wouldn't get hit.

Kurt gasped at her. "That's true, divalicious!"

Quinn rolled her eyes, "We're not watching it." she murmured as she bent down to pick up some of the empty bottles they'd managed to scatter around the lawn.

Rachel pouted and turned to go inside the house. Santana couldn't help but laugh as she watched her go; it was so funny, how worked up she got about these things, about Broadway and her musicals. But the Latina just loved her for it, and found it fucking adorable.

Brittany snuck up behind her and gave her a cuddly hug. "It's your birthday soon, San!" she whispered into her ear.

_Shit, that reminds me..._ Santana gave Brittany a brilliant smile and took her hand, squeezing it tightly as a thank-you. She'd forgotten about that, well... she'd not really forgotten about it, she just hadn't really _decided_ yet. But her parents had told her to invite everybody from Glee to their Sunday brunch-slice-birthday party next weekend, because they really wanted to meet all of her friends. Santana herself just hadn't been certain that she wanted all of them there with her family, but now... after tonight and the week they had, how they'd all been there for her when she _really_ needed them... she couldn't imagine not having them there.

"Guys!" she practically yelled, which caused everyone to turn their heads and look at her. She grinned at them. "I'm turning eighteen next week, bitches, and you all better fucking be at my house at nine thirty on Sunday. And you better bring me a shitload of presents, too."

_That's right, _Santana thought to herself as she downed the rest of her Corona and raised an eyebrow in Quinn's direction, _Santana Lopez is back, you fuckers. _

At this point, she wasn't really sure where she'd gone for the week, but it felt really fucking satisfying to be back and be herself.

**x**

"Shh, be quiet, Baby..." Rachel whispered, as the two of them practically stumbled up the staircase towards her room; the entire house was silent, and the lights were out, because there were twelve other people scattered around various places in the house, all falling quickly asleep. Most of them had found somewhere to crash for the night a couple of hours ago, but Santana, Rachel, Puck and Finn had been hanging around in the kitchen for a while, not ready for the night to end. They'd played Poker, and Rachel had lost massively, but it had been fun, and they'd been drinking red wine, and Santana fucking loved it when Rachel drank red wine. She always got into such a particular mood whenever she drank red wine.

Santana caught her girlfriend by the hand and pushed her up against the wall in the hallway, pressing her entire body against the diva's, leaving no air between them as she nuzzled her nose to Rachel's, and they shared the same air. "I'm not the one making any noise, Tiny," she murmured, "that's you."

Rachel stared at her for a few seconds, looking as if she was contemplating something inside that head of hers, but Santana didn't have any time to question it, because then the singer's lips were on hers, and her hands were up her shirt. Goosebumps rose on the Latina's skin, and she slipped her knee in between Rachel's thighs like it was second nature to her. She appreciated the sexy mewl she got in response.

"I've missed you." Rachel mumbled, her lips leaving a wet trail across Santana's cheekbone as they travelled towards her ear. "I can't believe it's been over a week since we had sexual intercourse."

Was it wrong that the sound of the words 'sexual intercourse' got Santana so aroused these days?

The Latina lowered her head and pressed her lips against the crook of Rachel's neck, shivering as she felt the diva's talented fingers caress her breasts. She parted her lips slightly and sunk her teeth into the sweaty skin for a brief second, before she let her tongue out and swept it over the spot to soothe the mark. Her hands wandered down the side of the brunette's body, feeling every inch of skin because it was simply too long since she'd touched it; she brushed her chest, her delicious abs and that amazing butt of hers. She gave it a tight squeeze and Rachel breathed out deeply as her centre rubbed against the cheerleader's knee once more. Chuckling, the taller girl let one hand move around the diva's body, and as she continued to suck on her neck, she undid the button of Rachel's jeans, before letting her hand slide inside the other girl's underwear. There was a faint sound as Rachel's head hit the wall and she breathed out, and Santana's fingers were met with basically a pool of wetness.

She felt her own breath hitch in her throat. "Damn Rach... you're so wet." she whispered, letting her lips move away from the neck and back to the singer's face, their lips pressing quickly together again and again again. She toyed with the other girl's clit for a few seconds and felt Rachel almost tremble against the wall.

"We can't do this." the tinier girl whispered then, painfully letting her eyes flutter open so they could lock with the Latina's. "Our friends are everywhere in this house, we can't do it."

Santana chuckled, "They won't hear, Baby, they're all sleeping." she whispered, before she slipped one finger inside the other girl and rubbed it against the spot she knew drove her mad.

Rachel's breathing was quickly speeding up. "But-" she moaned then and her hips bucked involuntarily towards Santana's hand, "_Oh_! That feels so good, Baby."

The Latina teasingly repeated the action, "You were saying?"

She had to think about it for a second or two, and Santana knew it was extremely hard for her to make up a proper thought when she was like this; there was this one time, when they went ten days without sex because their periods had come right after each other, and it was the longest they'd gone since they got together, and the Latina had been amused to realise that her girlfriend had turned into quite the little horndog.

"But you're – you're on your period, right?"

"That's right..." Santana whispered, before letting her other hand travel up the girl's blouse and beneath her bra to brush her nipple, "But just because it can't receive... doesn't mean I can't give."

Rachel hissed at the loss of contact when the stronger girl pulled her hand out of her pants to pull her the last few feet into her bedroom, where she shut the door and locked it – just to be sure.

**x**

Rachel was tiredly rubbing her eyes as the pair made their way into the kitchen the next morning at approximately nine thirty. Her hair was gathered in a mess on top of her head and she was wearing nothing but a t-shirt that was way too big for her (it was Leroy's old one, and man, it suited her _well_) and her boy's shorts underwear. If Santana had gotten a little more sleep the night before, she might have had the energy to care that her friends would see her girlfriend like this, but she was seriously too fucking tired right now.

As they entered the kitchen, they found that the rest of their friends were already up and about, eating, cooking and chatting. Quinn, Lauren and Mercedes were all gathered around the stove and the counter, cutting fruit and frying things that smelled heavenly to Santana. Brittany was munching away on a bowl of Lucky Charms, while some of the others were practically devouring their coffees and trying to stay awake.

"Good morning fellow Glee Clubbers!" Rachel cheerily said and went for the fridge with a dismissive shake of her head in Quinn's direction. She pulled some of her vegan crap out of there and placed it on the table with a smack.

Puck chuckled, "_Good_ morning it is." he said and shot a smirk in Santana's direction, which caused the Latina to give him a 'what the fuck?'-look.

Rachel sat on the empty barstool next to Mike and reached for one of the cups that someone had placed on the table. "I trust everyone had a good night's sleep?" she questioned then, pouring herself some coffee, before reaching for the boiled water and the instant-cocoa to make some for Santana.

The Latina took a spot behind her, wrapping her arms around her waist as she watched their friends share saying looks across the table. She furrowed her brow when she tilted her head to the side and saw that Kurt was trying to hide his giggles in Blaine's arm. Quinn had turned positively red in the face, while some of the others just looked downright uncomfortable – though very amused.

"Okay, what the fuck?" Santana questioned, accepting the cup from Rachel as the diva turned to their friends with a questionable look in her eyes.

"It's just..." Artie trailed off, a faint blush rising up on his cheeks, "Well, apparently some had a better night than others." he replied, before pushing his glasses further onto his nose and turning to accept the piece of toasted bread that Tina offered him.

Puck smirked, "I, for one, couldn't _sleep_." he informed them with a nod of his head. "There were these _sounds_ coming from upstairs... all... night... long..."

Santana felt Rachel stiffen in her arms, and she narrowed her eyes in on the boy with the Mohawk, "What sounds? Rach and I didn't hear anything, we were _sleeping_."

Sam chuckled, "Well, there was some thumping." he said.

"And some creaking," Tina added, "you know... bedsprings."

Mercedes burst out laughing as she turned to offer Santana some bacon on a plate. "And some 'oh oh ohs' as well." she grinned.

Mike smiled evilly at Rachel as he sipped his coffee. "So you had a good night, didn't you Rachel?"

Santana could see that her girlfriend quickly was turning dramatically red in the face, so she shot the Asian boy a dirty look, before shrugging her shoulders and pretending that she had no idea what was going on, "Well, we wouldn't know. Like I _said_," she continued, "we were sleeping."

"But San!" Brittany added then, looking adorably confused as she pointed across the table with a spoon that was dripping with milk, "You and Rachel were having sexy-times, I'm sure it was you, because someone was moaning your name, and I know you wouldn't cheat on Rachel, because you love her."

Rachel's eyes widened drastically and Santana pulled herself away from her girlfriend with a shake of her head as she tried not to let their taunts bother her.

"_Oh_!" Puck mimicked, wriggling his eyebrows in a teasing manner, "_Oh Santana! Harder Baby, harder, harder, right there! More! More!_" he paused as he snorted out and smirked at his fellow Jew, "So loud," he continued, "all night _long_!"

Finn started making creaking sounds, and Kurt giggled again.

"Alright, stop the madness!" Santana told them, her voice stern as she glared them all down; she could tell that Rachel was about to bury herself, so she gave her girlfriend's hand a squeeze and thereby conveyed to her that she needed to stay cool and pretend that it didn't bother her – to pull out badass Rachel once more. "Seriously! So Rach and I were fucking? Big deal! We're dating. And what a surprise – Rachel is vocal in bed. Who in here thought she _wouldn't_ be?"

This caused everyone to shut their mouths, because even though most of them hadn't imagined Rachel in bed (Santana hoped to _God_ that _most _of them hadn't; you know, for their own sakes), they'd probably always known that Rachel was going to be vocal. She was _always_ vocal, so why would that change when in the bedroom? Santana smirked at them and gave Rachel's hand another supportive squeeze.

Rachel huffed then and held her head high. "Yes, I like to inform Santana when she's doing something that feels good, I think it's important to share that. Even though it's also very fulfilling when I'm able to bring Santana to a satisfying climax during those times when she's not so vocal. Actually, she can be rather quiet in bed."

Santana felt herself grow hot at the information that her girlfriend had just shared with their friends, but she played it off like it was no big deal at all. So with a flip of her hair, she reached for some of the fruit that Quinn was just placing on the table on a giant tray. "Hells yeah. And you do it well, Baby." she said, before biting into a piece of pineapple.

"Satan's quiet in bed with you?" Puck asked as he leered at the two of them (and Santana wondered for a brief second why it was that they ended up discussing their sex life), "She was never quiet with me. She was a screamer."

"Oh _really_?" Rachel questioned, arching an eyebrow in his direction, and thus challenging her best friend in some weird way. And though Brittany 'oh'ed, seeing the potential of a disagreement between the two of them, Santana knew that it was all in good fun; Rachel and Puck were better friends than perhaps some of the others realised.

Puck was ready to take Rachel up on her little challenge. "Yup. Always was. You must not fuck her as good as me, Rach."

Rachel huffed. "I'm sure I make love to her just fine, thank you Noah."

He bit his lip, "Then why the quietness? I'm thinkin' that I can fuck her good."

Sighing, Rachel shot Puck a grin and reached for her cup of coffee. She took a long gulp of it as everyone awaited her next move; some with more urgency than others because they were eager to know what her comeback was going to be. Santana was just amused because she could tell that Rachel and Puck were totally just teasing each other and played with the rest of them. Placing her cup to the table, the brunette smiled slyly at her best friend. "Oh, I'm not questioning your capability at _fucking _my girlfriend, Noah. I am simply just stating that I fuck her better."

"Burn!" Mercedes cheered as she gave Puck a supportive pad on the back.

The boy wasn't that easily put off though. He rose an eyebrow in Rachel's direction and said, "And how do you know that?"

"Santana told me." Rachel simply just replied, before she popped two grapes into her mouth, and all eyes turned to the Latina, who was still standing behind her, now slightly uncomfortable. Puck was glaring at her, daring her to agree with Rachel and tell them all that she was right, because he – of course – didn't believe that anyone could fuck anyone else better than him. He was about to be corrected, though.

"_Another_ big surprise!" the Latina mumbled, rolling her eyes at her friends, "I like it when girls fuck me. Who in here, honestly, thought that I was straight?" she asked them, and when no one blinked or answered, she figured that she was right. She really had been an obvious lesbian, except for the fact that she, y'know, slept with a lot of dudes and stuff. But that had totally just been a cover all of those years. Apparently people had seen it, too.

Blaine grinned at Santana from across the table, "So you're most definitely gay?"

Nodding her head, Santana leaned herself against the counter, and immediately felt Rachel's warm hand on her lower backside. "Yeah," she mumbled, and for the first time, she was actually saying this out loud and admitting it, admitting that it was who she was, who Santana Lopez was, "I am."

Puck shrugged slightly. "Damn."

"So Lopez is gay." Lauren said then, shooting them all a giant grin, "But what about you, Berry?"

Rachel's eyes widened slightly now that the spotlight was back on her, but she placed her mug on the table again and said, "Me? No, I'm not gay. I don't really believe in labels. I fall for a person, not a gender, a religion, or an _age_ even. I just fall, I guess." she bit her lip, "I'm pan sexual."

Santana gave her girlfriend a soft look. "Did you google that?"

"I did."

The Latina laughed.

Finn smiled at Rachel then, that dopey expression across his face, "But you've never dated another girl, have you? I was totally your first love, right?"

Rachel ducked briefly beneath her shield of hair, before she smiled up at them all, a faint blush creeping across her features. "Actually... some of your may remember that I shared this during a game of Truth or Dare several months ago..." she trailed off,and Santana saw that her eyes went a little soft at the thought of Amanda Adams, "But there was a girl."

Kurt looked particularly delighted at this revelation. "Really?"

Rachel nodded softly. "Yes. Things didn't end so well, it was – it was Azimio's little sister. I knew her from ballet class."

A sort of silence overtook the table then as their friends let these news sink in. Kurt looked slightly frightened, while Puck was smirking, yet no one was saying anything. It was only when Mercedes nodded her head and gave Rachel a supportive smile, that things lived up again.

"Damn girl..." she mumbled, "I was wondering what the deal with Azimio was the other day... Makes so much more sense to me now."

Rachel laughed. "Well... Azimio's been hating my guts ever since."

Quinn pushed another tray onto the table and offered them all a soft smile. "_So_." she said, "Breakfast anyone?"

Everybody immediately started digging into the food that now covered the entire table, and Santana turned to give Rachel a brief kiss on the lips, before she reached for another piece of pineapple and enjoyed the fact that life seemed pretty damn great right now.

* * *

_I'm sorry if there are a lot of mistakes in this chapter; I'll go back and edit them out as soon as I have some spare time on my hands. _

_I want to thank you so much for the reviews that I received for the last chapter! I'm so glad that you liked it, and that you're all looking forward to getting things back on track with the girls. This story is sort of 'split' in three, the first one, being the road for the girls to get together, and the middle one where they deal with coming out and stuff, and now the third one, where the Glee Club will be heading to Regionals soon. I hope you're up for the rest of the ride ;-) _

_This chapter was mainly just a lot of fun and good times – I hope you enjoyed that, I've been missing it. The song is called 'Everytime' and it's by The Flames. The first time I heard it, I immediately thought that it was SUCH a Glee song; that I could totally picture all of them singing it together and just having fun. Thus the bonfire scene was born in my head, and I'd been looking forward to writing it ever since. And the last scene? Don't really know where it came from, I just thought it'd be another good way to sort of show how much both of these two girls has changed – badass Rachel is awesome ;-) ! _

_I'm totally looking forward to the next episode of Glee. I've been digging the I Feel Pretty / Unpretty mash-up since I first heard it. Might've had it on repeat for a little while, too. Heh. _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee, RENT or 'Everytime'. _


	24. Every Single Day

**Chapter Twenty Four **

**Every Single Day **

There were fucking five days until the weekend of her birthday, and Santana fucking couldn't wait, because it was gonna be epic.

Didn't mean she didn't have to get her ass to school, though.

Early morning Cheerios practice on Monday was gut wrenching, yet fucking fantastic at the same frigging time. Sue Sylvester was working them harder than ever as the count-down for this week's Regionals had begun. They were running laps and doing push-ups and sit-ups, and Santana felt like her body was on fire, but she could see the end of it; she could see that by Saturday, they'd have that trophy and all the fucking work would be worth it.

It was also fantastic to be surrounded by a team that was there for each other; there were no bad feelings or no insults (except from Sue, but that was a given). The entire team seemed to have lightened up now that Jennifer the Bitch was off the squad. And the Latina had a feeling that their Saturday trip to Akron was going to be one of the best ones yet.

It didn't even matter that they were working themselves so hard that their bones were aching and black spots started appearing behind their eyes due to lack of oxygen. The entire team was ready to fight; and they were all in an exceptionally good mood – something Santana hadn't witnessed in a very long time. They always used to argue about every single detail, and Quinn would usually have a hard time trying to get everyone to listen to her when she wanted them to do something. But fuck it, now, it was just frigging uplifting to be a part of it.

"Nice job today, Haylie." Santana smiled at the younger girl and gave her a pad on the back as they made their way out of the dressing room after practice.

Haylie looked at her in surprise and smiled shyly back, "Thanks.. Santana." she whispered, before she was off in the other direction, turning to give Santana another look as she rounded a corner.

Quinn raised an eyebrow at the Latina, "What was that about?"

Santana shrugged, "Haylie's cool. Next head-cheerleader, I'm telling ya'." she mumbled, before she wrapped an arm around Brittany's shoulder and the three girls made their way down the hallway – unconsciously steering themselves in the direction of Rachel's locker, because for some reason, it felt as if they weren't really complete when the other girl wasn't by their sides when they walked down the hallway. Santana wondered for a brief second where that changed for her two best friends, but fuck it. She wasn't going to complain about that shit. She was just fucking thrilled that they finally realised how awesome Rachel was.

"Baby!" Rachel exclaimed, as soon as her eyes locked on the three Cheerios coming down the hallway. She slammed her locker shut and excitedly bounced forward to meet Santana with a brief kiss on the lips. "Good morning! How was practice? Was it good? Did you sweat a lot? Are you ready for Regionals this weekend? I bet you're going to win, you're Cheerios, you always win!"

Staring with wide eyes at her girlfriend, Santana wondered what had gotten into her. Sure, Rachel Berry was always bouncy, but this was pushing it – even for her. Though Brittany seemed wildly into the entire jumbled mess of questions right now, because they easily followed her usual train of thoughts. "Uhm Tiny... You okay?" the Latina questioned, reaching a hand out to touch it to the diva's forehead.

Rachel beamed up at her. "Sure am, Baby!" she continued to say in that bubbly voice of hers, "I was just reeeeally tired this morning, because for some reason I couldn't sleep, so I drank a lot of coffee – and that's probably an entire pot – so now I'm just really bouncy and excited, and full of caffeine, and I have a feeling that my English Lit teacher isn't going to be so happy with me first period." she finished her rant and stared at the brunette cheerleader with expectant eyes.

Santana couldn't help but let out a breathy chuckle. "No, I don't think so either, Rach. Why'd you drink all that coffee, even if you were tired?"

"Had to do something, didn't I?" Rachel questioned, before she locked her arm with Brittany's and the two girls turned around and started skipping down the hallway.

The Latina watched them go with a little laugh, and when she turned around to stare at the other blonde cheerleader, she was met with a very amused-looking Quinn Fabray. The smile on her lips was a saying one, and it looked like she wanted to comment on something, but was holding it back. Santana nudged her slightly. "What?"

"Oh nothing." Quinn lightly replied, as they made their way down the hallway, their shoulders brushing repeatedly as they walked. "It's just nice to see you so happy, S. Happy and in love."

In the past, Santana would have kicked her ass and told her to shut the fuck up, but this Santana gave her a crooked smile and shrugged her shoulders. "It's nice to be in love. She makes me happy."

Quinn replied with a soft nod. "Yeah I know... I don't understand how you could possibly spend more than five minutes alone with her, because just arranging that get-together on Saturday with her made me want to rip my _hair_ out..." she trailed off and giggled nervously, "but I'm glad that you can, because you make each other happy."

Santana swallowed loudly. "Like you and Sam, right? Because I can totally knock some sense into Trout Mouth if ya' want me to."

The head-cheerleader rolled her eyes. "No thank you. Sam makes me happy."

"Alright then." Santana mumbled, as they strolled into the Algebra class that they shared this morning, "Now that _that's_ made me want to barf – how about we turn the conversation onto something less mushier?" she wriggled her eyebrows, "You fucked the frog yet, or you still onto the entire _holier than thou_ act?"

Quinn groaned and Santana couldn't help but laugh.

**x**

During Glee on Tuesday Santana had a feeling that Quinn still wanted to rip her hair out because of Rachel. Quinn _and_ several other people, like, you know, the rest of the _club_ in general. Because now that Regionals was totally just three weeks away, Rachel was getting seriously crazy. Like, even crazier than usual, which evidently said a lot.

Santana was scared.

And she was receiving several saying glances throughout one of Rachel's rants, wanting her to do something, to maybe possibly say something, but what the fuck was she supposed to do about it? Rachel was one crazy diva, and this was her damn club, and no matter what Santana said to her, it wouldn't calm her the fuck down. So the Latina just settled for leaning back in her chair, crossing her arms and trying to block out her girlfriend. (It worked for the most part, but Rachel's voice had a tendency to get through to you no matter what you did).

Plus, it wasn't like Santana didn't want to listen to her girlfriend – she actually thought it was quite amusing because Rachel got so worked up over such silly things -, but she was pretty damn tired from fucking said girlfriend all night. Took a lot work, alright? No one expects you to walk right the day after, let alone stay _awake_ during classes. Just, y'know, sayin'.

But anyway, their team captain was blabbing on about the set-list they still hadn't finished (when had Mr. Schue ever finished a set-list anywhere before the actual day of the show?), and now she was highly concerned because one of the dance-routines just didn't seem all that great when she thought about it. And what about the duet that she and Finn were doing? It didn't really sound that mind-blowing in her ears.

(At this point, Santana wanted to tell her that Finn had never once sounded mind-blowing, that he was mediocre at best, but she decided to shut up about that one for now).

So then Mr. Schuester got really worried because maybe Rachel was right and they really should change some things around (were they too predictable? Did they always sing the same sort of songs? _Fuck yes!_), and then he pretended to smile all happily when Rachel produced no more than seven different lists with possible song selections. She even presented a pie chart with different possible outcomes to the different songs. And there was a PowerPoint presentation at some point, but Santana's pretty sure she slept through it.

At least she felt like she was awakened, when the bell rung and Rachel excitedly cornered her by taking a seat on the chair next to hers, as everybody else filed out of the room; eager to get away from the madhouse. Rachel's smile was so bright though, that Santana could hardly get herself to tell the other girl that she maybe ought to tone it down a tiny little bit.

"So what did you think of all of my ideas? Are they adequate enough for the upcoming Regionals competition against The Warblers _and_ Vocal Adrenaline?" she seethed, her usually big eyes even bigger, and an excited flush across her cheeks.

The cheerleader fought the urge to kiss her, and licked her lip in a brief attempt to distract the diva, before saying, "Good stuff, Tiny... _you're so pretty_."

And then they proceeded to make out in the choir room for a good twenty minutes, before the cheerleader realised she was very late for the extra Cheerios practice that she was supposed to attend.

Quinn (and Coach Sylvester) were not amused. Though Brittany seemed to find the hickey on her neck quite hilarious.

**x**

Wednesday turned out to be a fucking bad day in Santana's opinion. Like, the second she and Rachel stepped into school that morning, they were douched in green slushie, and when the Latina finally managed to open her eyes through the stinging, Azimio was already halfway down the hallway, laughing mockingly at them, and yelling something about gays and homo-explosion and other things Santana really wished she could punch his teeth out for saying.

Rachel took it all with a smile and a raised chin like she'd done since the mother-fucker fired the first one her way more than a year ago. Santana was furiously fuming as she was dragged towards the nearest bathroom by her girlfriend so they could get cleaned up. And okay then, she could have let it slide, if it wasn't for the fact, that two fucking periods later, the moron returned and tried to get a rise out of her by commenting on Rachel's legs in that skirt and saying that he could rock her world.

While Rachel huffed and proceeded to inform him that she'd really rather not, the Latina simply saw red and pushed the giant football-player into the nearest row of lockers. It took him by surprise, because even though it was a known fact that the Latina was very strong and could handle practically anything, he still wasn't ready to be jammed between her and the cold metal before he even managed to blink once.

"Fuck you, Azimio!" Santana huffed and stuck her face close to his, and she swore, that if she'd been in one of those lame cartoons that Oscar liked to watched on Saturdays, she would have had steam coming out her ears. Now she just had Rachel's never-ending stream of pleadings coming _in_ her ears. (She honestly would have preferred the steam).

Azimio pushed her back roughly and created some space between them. Adjusting his jacket, he snorted. "You know I wouldn't mind that, Santana. You're the one with the problem between the two of us, not me." he glanced at Rachel, "You like to eat Berry out, but you know what? That's not hot – it's frigging gross, that's what it is."

Rachel's eyes widened slightly and she took a step forward to participate, "You know what, you're the one who is gross, Azimio. You should be able to respect that people are different, but no, you couldn't even let your own _sister_ be happy."

The football-player's jaw tightened dangerously, and Santana quickly took a few steps to the side to make sure that she was placed between him and Rachel in case something were to happen. "Don't bring Amanda into this." he whispered, his eyes shooting daggers at the tiny diva in front of him; she was practically thrice as little as him, and there was something so wrong about seeing a girl like her stand up to a guy like him.

Karofsky was lingering a few lockers down, watching the entire scene with a panicked expression, and Santana could see that he was conflicted; now, after knowing his secret, it suddenly made much more sense why he'd always been the way he'd been. A fucking lot more of sense, actually.

"Amanda has been a part of this since it started." Rachel hissed at him, but lowered her voice for good measure, because there were gossips all over the hallway, and being the bigger person, she didn't want to do anything to hurt him in any way – even if he'd hurt her enough to last a life-time. "This thing between you and me, Azimio, it has to stop. Yes, I happen to like girls as I like boys, and yes, I did like your sister like that. She's a beautiful and stunning young woman, inside and out, why wouldn't I fall for that?" she paused briefly, but didn't give him the time to answer, since it was mostly a hypothetical question anyway, "That doesn't give you the right to harass and bully me like you've done though, and I'm advising you to stop. Please just... _stop_."

He huffed, "Don't tell me what to do."

Santana rolled her eyes and took a step forward; she didn't have to listen to this, and she god-damnit didn't want to. She was fucking tired of never knowing when a slushie was going to hit her, and she'd only been at this for a week. Rachel had been doing this for years – how could she live with that? Santana wanted things to change, and she wanted them to change _now_. "Alright Azimio, since you see them get absolutely nada of what we're trying to say to you, I'ma cut it out for you real good, okay? Just to make sure that your small brain is all caught up." she reached a finger out then and jabbed it into his stomach roughly. "Leave us _the fuck_ alone. Got it?"

"No!" he replied back, pushing her hand away and crossing his arms in front of his chest, "You two need to stop infesting the hallways with your gayness. The rest of us are getting pretty damn tired of looking at you two all day long. It isn't right, and we shouldn't have to."

Rachel gasped, and Santana fought the urge to pounce on him completely; she'd get her ass kicked though. Two seconds tops and he'd have her thrown into the ground, not caring whether she broke her neck or not. It was hard though, to restrain herself, so she appreciated the warm hand that Rachel had wrapped around her lower arm, just to be sure.

He continued with a superior chuckle. "Being gay is wrong. It's disgusting. And the two of you shouldn't be allowed to be in this school. Especially not you, Berry, you were an accident just waiting to happen with your two fathers."

That was it! No one fucking insulted Leroy and Hiram like that! Those two were amazing dudes with an amazing daughter, and fuck it if Santana was going to let this big idiot say things like that and get away with it with his nuts intact. She was going to rip his hair out and claw his fucking eyes out. Ripping herself out of Rachel's grip, she was ready to jump on him, but before she managed to do so, a firm hand – a hand too rough to be Rachel's perfect soft one – held her back, and when the Latina turned her head to see who it was, she felt her mouth go dry when she looked into the face of none other than Karofsky.

"Don't." he simply said, and when he loosened his grip, Santana was simply too stunned to do anything but stand there and watch as he padded Azimio on the shoulder and said, "Dude, don't, okay? Let them be." he paused and turned to look at them again, and Santana didn't miss the hesitant smile that he offered her girlfriend, "Just let them be, dude. They're not worth it." he finished.

Azimio seemed to think about that for a few seconds; his eyes moved from his best friend, to Rachel, to Santana, before he shrugged and let out a sigh. "Whatever, dude." he replied, before he turned around, and the two guys walked down the hallway.

Santana turned to look at her girlfriend with a questionable look, and though she seemed shaken up by the incident they'd just been a part of, she also appeared to be happy with the way things had turned out in the end. "Okay. What the frigging frack?"

Rachel giggled. "I don't know!" she whispered, before stepping up to Santana's side to wrap her arms around her midsection. "That was surreal, Baby."

The Latina placed a kiss on top of her hair. "Damn right it was."

"I think Karofsky is really coming around to accepting himself as a person." Rachel continued to mumble, as they walked down the hallway; at least she had the decency to lower her voice. After all, it was in the middle of the school day, and though slightly deserted due to the fact that most people had classes this period, anyone could – realistically speaking – still walk down the hallway and hear them.

Santana wasn't quite sure whether or not Karofsky would ever fully accept that part of himself, but at least they must have gotten through to him somehow, because he'd stepped in to stop it (whatever 'it' was...) before it got out of hand; before Santana had been smacked to the ground, or Azimio had been expelled (though that would have been a great day for everybody), or Rachel had freaked out in her usual diva-fashion. He'd been man enough to tell his best friend that he needed to cut it off. And maybe – just maybe – Azimio would listen to him for a little while. The slushies from Azimio would probably never stop, but maybe they'd be cut in half. Santana could threaten him all she wanted, but there was no way in fucking hell he wouldn't continue to do as he pleased.

It'd be a start though. Or somethin'.

The Latina sighed and breathed in the scent of Rachel's hair as they turned a corner. "So what do you wanna do this period?" she mumbled. She had a few ideas. Hello – free period, empty classrooms? What's the most realistic thing _to do_? She was pretty sure Rachel wanted to study though. Even if the choir room was empty and they had this common fantasy of Rachel on on top of the piano with Santana's head between her thighs.

Rachel stared up at her with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Biting her lip, she glanced towards the hallway that lead towards the choir room with longing in her eyes. "I really want to do you, Baby..." she lightly suggested, and just like that, her voice had gone all throaty and hot, and Santana felt the instant tingle in her spanks.

"_You_ wanna _fuck_ here?" Santana gasped, "You don't even wanna study or something equally as stupid?"

Shaking her head, the diva leaned up to whisper in her ear, "I think you might have corrupted me." she replied, before she pulled back and sauntered down the hallway.

The cheerleader couldn't resist watching her walk away for a second, before she realised that she was wasting precious time and scurried to follow her.

**x**

"We need to talk to you."

Glancing up from her salad, Santana gaped at the three people who had come to join her at the lunch table she was currently sitting at (she was waiting for Rachel, alright? She wasn't some loser, sitting alone on a Thursday during lunch period, okay? Her girlfriend was just running late due to the fact that she scored less than 100 percent on her latest French test and she simply _had_ to talk to her teacher about it. Because anything less than perfect was not acceptable if one wanted to get into Julliard, and...).

Oh. Where was she?

(It – briefly – frightened the Latina a little bit that she was starting to produce Rachel Berry lengthy monologues inside her head).

Yes. Mercedes, Tina and Artie had just come up to her table, and she was frigging fucking surprised to see them there. Usually, when she ate lunch with them, the entire Glee Club was sitting together, but today everyone was scattered around the cafeteria. What was up with that shit?

She swallowed, "Huh?"

"We need to have a Berryvention." Mercedes informed her, as she took a seat just opposite the cheerleader.

Artie added, "That's an intervention about Rachel." he shrugged, "I came up with the name."

Santana gave him a 'what the hell?'-look, as if she hadn't gathered that by the frigging name. Anyway, even though these losers were joining her at lunch to talk about her girlfriend (who could technically arrive at any said moment (_Please Tiny, please just come so I don't have to talk to them..._) and overhear them), she just really didn't _want_ to talk to them. But she might have to, didn't she? Weren't they friends now? She wasn't so sure, but she was pretty damn certain that Rachel would cut her off if she pushed them off the bench.

"Why do we need to talk about Rachel?" she asked. She had a good feeling though.

Tina said, "It's about Glee."

Yup, she was so right about that.

"Rachel's getting too obsessed with details again." Mercedes informed her, as she bent her head slightly over, to keep the conversation between the four of them, "We're doing fine for Regionals, it's no problem. The rest of us are just tired of hearing all of her insane ideas, and she's making Mr. Schue doubt himself again!"

Santana couldn't help but chuckle. Her girlfriend was even better at his job than he was, which might be why he disliked her so much.

Artie added, "We'd just like to be able to get through a full rehearsal today at Glee. If she can control herself for one afternoon, we can run through everything, which really is the most affective way to see if anything's wrong, like she's claiming it is."

Stabbing a tomato, the cheerleader took her sweet time chewing it, before she swallowed loudly and glanced at the three Gleeks, who were all watching her expectantly. "What?" she questioned with a whine.

"You have to do something about it!" Mercedes demanded.

Rolling her eyes, the Latina said, "Look, I don't really get why you're talking to me about this, since Rachel's actually her own person, and I don't control her. Besides... she's cute when she cares about things."

The black diva rolled her eyes, while Artie pretended to gag.

"Anyway," Santana continued, "I can't tell her what to do, so I really have no fucking clue as to what you're proposing that I do about this!"

"You're _her_ girlfriend." Tina said then, "Distract her."

Santana snorted, "Nothing can distract Rachel from Glee, you should know that."

Artie pushed his glasses on top of his nose and replied, "Sure. Whenever she's concerned about something in one of her relationships, that always takes up all of her worries, and Glee is bearable. Just look at what happened when she and Finn had troubles. So just get her to think about something."

Mercedes added, "It's Regionals, Santana, we _have_ to win so we can get to New York."

Sighing heavily, Santana wanted to tell them to bugger off, but they did have a point. Kinda. Sorta. Well, anyway, a little bit. Because Rachel did obsess a lot with details, which did make it hard to run through all of their songs without interruptions. But how the fuck was she going to do it? She couldn't just abduct her girlfriend for an afternoon of sex (though that would probably be very pleasurable for both of them), because they actually did need to be there to _sing_ with the others...

Decisions, decisions.

"What are you guys talking about?"

Turning around in her seat, Santana saw that Rachel had approached them, rolling bag behind her, and lunch boxes tucked beneath her arm. She was wearing a giant smile, and Santana couldn't help but smile right back, because she looked all cute with her headband and her dotted knee socks, and the way that her teddy bear sweater had ridden up a little on her stomach.

Mercedes looked like a deer caught in the headlights, "We were just leaving." she quickly said, and before Santana could add anything, the three were hurrying away from the table, but not before Tina shot her a saying look as she squeaked out, "Bye!"

Rachel climbed above the bench then and took a seat next to Santana, proudly setting her food onto the table. "Were you just having lunch with them?" she wondered, before pressing her lips to the cheerleader's cheek in a short peck.

Santana, deciding that it was way better to not let Rachel linger around the scene she had just walked into, quickly diverted her attention to something else she knew could keep Rachel talking for _ages_, "So what did Mrs. Dubois have to say about your test?"

"I _was _right!" Rachel immediately replied, her grin turning even wider, "I did score a perfect test, and after carefully presenting my points to her, she could easily see that she'd made a mistake and she's going to correct it, which really, will help me keep up my prefect PGA, thus helping me get early accepted into Julliard, and-"

Letting her girlfriend ramble on, Santana slowly started eating her food, only to make sure that she nodded and hummed at the right places. What she really was doing though... she was trying to figure out what to do to get Rachel easily distracted during Glee today. It was easier requested from her friends than done on her behalf... Glee was Rachel's entire life (though Santana had to admit, that she'd been bumped up to first place after they started dating. Just 'cuz... she was awesome like that). Rachel cared about winning Regionals more than anything right now; that was why she was so concerned about making it perfect. She didn't want to let anyone down.

She could use a night of relaxation though. Well, Sunday was going to be all about the Latina's birthday and not about Glee Club, but it wasn't going to be relaxing per say... just more exhausting with all the Lopezes in one house, _and_ the Berrys _and_ the Glee kids. Whew. Remind her why she was doing this again? Oh yeah, for all the awesome presents. Plus, it was going to be even further exhausting after everyone left, because she planned on having lots of birthday sex.

But still! They should totally do something together, something fun and calm. They wouldn't see each other all Saturday either because of the Cheerios going to Akron for Regionals. But what about tomorrow? What about Friday night? They could... well, they ought to go somewhere together. They hadn't ever been out anywhere as a couple.

Fuck. They'd never really had a _date_.

In true Rachel Berry speak, Santana felt like she had to rectify that immediately. And thereby cause a useful distraction for Rachel throughout Glee Club this afternoon... Those fucking losers in that choir room was going to love her for this.

"Tiny?" she questioned, bobbing her head to the side, not really concerned that she just interrupted Rachel, who was still going on about Mrs. Dubois and her French test. "I'm taking you out tomorrow."

Arching her brow, Rachel confusedly asked, "Taking me out?"

Santana nodded, "We've never had a real date. Except the ice skating one, but that doesn't count, 'cuz the Daddies Berry were totally there. So I'ma treat you for a nice night out."

Rachel's entire face lit up completely, and Santana could tell that she was going to be giddy. "Oh, you're so sweet, Baby! Tomorrow night? What should I wear?" she breathed out deeply and placed a kiss to Santana's lips, "Where are we _going_?"

Santana smirked at her (she had no fucking clue yet, but Rachel didn't need to know that), "That's for me to know and you to find out." she mysteriously replied as she winked at her.

"Tell me!" Rachel said then, clapping her hands together.

"Nope," the Latina replied with a shrug of her shoulders, "you'll just have to wait and see."

And just like that, Santana Lopez (being the fucking awesome girlfriend that she was) created a perfect distraction for Rachel Berry, who – much to the amusement (and relief) of their fellow Gleeks – spent the entirety of that afternoon's practice, frantically asking, "Where are we going, Baby? Just tell me!"

**x**

That epicness that Santana always talked about?

It was so fucking true. She really was a fucking epic girlfriend. Like, no lie. She had this date thing _down_. At least it seemed like she was on top of everything, because Rachel was really having a good time. Santana could totally tell that she fucking was, because she _knew_ her girlfriend, and she knew when she was pretending. And she frigging wasn't.

The Latina had picked her up late Friday afternoon at five thirty. She'd brought flowers and chatted with Leroy and Hiram while waiting for Rachel to finish getting ready upstairs. When her girlfriend had emerged (looking as gorgeous as ever), she had complimented her on her outfit, Rachel had blushed, they'd said goodbye to her fathers and Santana had driven them to the movies.

They'd had seats to a romantic comedy, but really, they'd just been holding hands and sneaking kisses in the back row. It was all so cliché and high school, that Santana could hardly believe she was a part of it. But she could tell that Rachel loved every fucking second of it; the diva might be a special girl, but inside, she was just like any other girl, and she'd probably dreamed of a date like this since she was little. And neither Finn, nor Jesse or Puck had ever treated her for a night like this.

Santana absolutely loved that she was the first (and only) one to do it.

After their movie was done, Santana drove them to _Breadsticks _to be totally cliché. It was where young couples went on dates in Lima, since it was cheap, yet the food was still good. And Santana loved her some breadsticks. They were currently sitting across from each other in a little booth, and Rachel was looking gorgeous in the light from the candles, while the Latina happily munched away on a breadstick.

"You're such an amazing girlfriend." Rachel told her, as she sat her menu down, after deciding which of their vegan options she was going to try out tonight. "No one's ever taken me out like this before. You continue to blow my mind away."

Santana had a feeling that with nights like these came a lot of fluff and mushiness, so she'd mentally prepared herself for that before she picked the diva up. "Well no shit, Tiny... you deserve a night like this."

Reaching her hand across the table, Rachel gently weaved their fingers together, "I love you so much."

Feeling that weird flutter in her chest, Santana couldn't keep herself from smiling at the other girl, "I love you too, Rachel." she whispered, before she leaned across the table and their lips met in a brief, but sweet kiss. Pulling apart again, their eyes were locked together, their noses inches apart, and Santana only pulled back when they heard someone approaching and Rachel let out a stream of giggles.

"Have you ladies decided on your order?" the waiter asked, turning to Santana with a grin. His brown hair was tousled to the side in that charming way, and his eyes were a piercing green. He was muscular, and maybe a couple of years older than them. Totally the type she would have fucked before Christmas, but she was happy to realise that she didn't even feel the desire right now.

"Hell yes!" she told him with a flirty grin, before she rattled off her own order, following with Rachel's. The waiter left them alone again, and Rachel giggled once more.

After that, they continued to talk about anything and nothing at all, as they ate their dinner and shared kisses and smiles and looks across the table. Santana couldn't believe they hadn't done this before; it was so wonderful to be out with the other girl like this. Sure, she could see an old couple and few tables over, who was eyeing them with disdain, and it would probably always be like that in Lima, Ohio, but she didn't really mind. It wasn't as horrible as she'd always imagined it'd be when Brittany had wanted to go out just the two of them. It was actually pretty nice, and she could tell that Rachel was loving all of it, which would totally give her some fucking hot sex in return at some point.

It was only when their night was about to end that things went downhill. Santana couldn't stay the night at Rachel's (even though she so fucking wanted to), because she had to get up early to get on the bus to Akron with the rest of her team. She was just going to drive the diva home, and respectively kiss her on her front porch like a real first date would, and that would be that. It'd be the end of an evening that – by all means – had been truly enchanting (that was Rachel's words, not hers). But, of course, that was too good to be true.

When the hot waiter brought her back the receipt (Santana had insisted on paying, though Rachel's complaints were never-ending), she turned to pick it up and leave a bit of a tip, when something on the back of the white slip of paper caught her eye. Turning it over, she saw that there, in a messy, boyish scrawl, was written

_call me :) _

followed by his digits. Santana felt her eyes bulge slightly out of her head, and before she could even managed to think to keep this from her girlfriend, she'd blurted out, "Holy fucking hell!"

Rachel raised an eyebrow in concern. "What's wrong, Baby?"

Santana swallowed loudly, and even though it'd probably make a lot more sense if Rachel didn't know that random waiters were hitting on her, she handed the receipt over with a scowl. "He fucking left me his number."

A look of hurt flashed briefly over Rachel's face, but it only lasted a second, before another look took over her features completely; a look of sheer anger and annoyance. "What! That is so rude! He can't just do that!" she exclaimed, staring down at the numbers on the paper, "He _knew_ we were on a date. He saw us kiss. That is so inappropriate."

The Latina could suddenly feel her heart speed up a lot, and suddenly it occurred to her that this wasn't going to end so well. It'd always annoyed Rachel that people seemed to whistle at her, look at her, hit at her... do anything at her... whenever they went out. Even when they just went shopping, random guys would come up to her and ask her out. Santana was used to it; she'd been used to it since she started growing boobs. But Rachel had always hated it, because she was possessive, and she did _not_ want to share. So this idiotic dude trying to pick her up? Yeah, it wasn't going to go down well with her girlfriend.

"Tiny," she said, and reached a hand out to try and get the receipt back from her, "just throw the damn thing out and we'll pretend this never happened."

Rachel looked absolutely astonished that she could even suggest such a thing. "I will not throw it out! This is proof, Baby! I think I've been fairly accommodating with people coming up to you, when they didn't know any better, but this guy clearly knows that we are romantically entangled, due to the fact that he's been our waiter all evening, thus seeing us lock lips. I will not just let him get away with doing this, it is very disrespectful!" she finished, and with those words, she grabbed her purse and her jacket, before sliding out of the booth and marching through the restaurant towards the counter.

Santana – knowing that this was going to end in disaster – quickly grabbed her shit too and hurried to follow her fuming girlfriend.

"_You_, Mr. Waiter!" Rachel all but yelled as she stomped her foot into the ground and pointed an accusative finger towards the guy, "What do you think this is?" she questioned then, dangling the receipt out in front of him, for everyone to see.

The guy just blinked at her, and Santana tried to appear to everyone as if she most certainly wasn't a part of this commotion. People were turning to look at them, and even though Santana had come to terms with the fact that she was gay, and that she happily took Rachel out for a night this, it didn't mean that she wanted to announce it in front of the entire restaurant. Her _favourite_ restaurant, furthermore.

Rachel was on a roll though, and she did not seem to care that she was getting all of the attention in the restaurant. "You can't just go around and leave your numbers for other people's girlfriends! That is so inappropriate, and I want to speak with your manager!"

The guy snorted. "What? I just left her my number. I see a hot girl, I give her my number, what's the harm in that?"

"You knew we are together!" Rachel argued, stomping even closer to him, and Santana felt even smaller, because now people were putting the pieces together, and they were all eyeing her, "You've been our waiter all evening. Do you think it's okay for you to go around and make passes at people who are already in a relationship? Oh, you know what! Don't even answer that. I'm willing to bet that you wouldn't have even _considered_ leaving her your number if I had been a guy!"

Santana awkwardly shifted on her feet, "Rach... can't we just drop it?" she questioned, trying to ignore the way that the intense atmosphere in the restaurant was making her feel very awkward.

Rachel glared at her, "No we most certainly cannot just drop it, Santana!" she argued, before she turned back around, "This young man clearly hasn't been raised well, because if he'd had a decent set of parents, they would have taught him some manners."

"Hey, don't get your panties in a twist, okay?" the guy said, rolling his eyes in annoyance, "I just wanted to let her know that there's other options. She doesn't have to _settle_ for someone like you."

This caused everyone around the nearby tables to quiet down, and Santana could feel her heart beat madly against her ribcage. _Oh fuck. He did not just go there._ Her throat tightened uncomfortably, and she had to fight the urge to jump on him, because he just crossed a line. And the look on Rachel's face told the Latina that her girlfriend was immediately hurt by his comment.

Rachel softly questioned, "And what do you refer to when you make such a condescending comment?"

Santana held her breath.

The waiter snorted. "Well..." he trailed off, giving her a very obvious once-over, "Just look at you." he said, shrugging his shoulders, as if that was no big deal at all, before he turned his eyes to Santana, who felt them sweep over her every curve as he leered at her, "And then look at her..." he raised an eyebrow, before he turned back to Rachel with a challenging look, "She's not really in your league at all, is she?"

_Oh hell to the no! _Santana just stared at the guy in complete disbelief, while Rachel stood there, purse and jacket dangling over one arm, and the receipt crumbled tightly in the other hand. And she just looked at the guy, a truly heartbroken look across her face. And she didn't even say anything, she just stood there, staring at him for a while. It really scared Santana because Rachel always had something to say, but right now... she was too quiet. And the guy was looking all smug, like he'd just won the lottery, and Santana just couldn't let that shit fly.

So when Rachel took a dejected step back and reached a hand up to wipe a tear away, the Latina took a step forward, now suddenly not caring about getting involved. People might see her with them, and she might just announce to everyone that she was with Rachel, but she fucking didn't care. Because this idiot could not get away with talking to her like that. Rachel was the most perfect girlfriend anyone could ever want, and truly, Santana was the one who was lucky to have her, not the other way around.

"What did you just say?" she hissed at him, and his eyes widened in fear, and she knew that the look on her face was not a pleasant one. "You did not just insult my girlfriend, because that would be a pretty dumb move on your part!"

He took a step back, "No, I was – I just said that..."

She cocked her head to the side, "You just said that what? That Rachel is the most incredible girl ever? And that I'd never date a guy like you because you're a jerk, and I'm gay and I'm already taken? Yeah!" she hissed, loudly cracking her knuckles just to let him know that she meant business. "You just ruined a perfectly wonderful date, so maybe you should think about that in the future, before you make the same mistake twice."

"Look," he continued to say, clearly wanting to reason with her, "I'm sorry, okay? I won't do it again, just – just get your girlfriend and go home."

Santana chuckled; a deep, throaty, sarcastic chuckle that let everyone know that she was _not_ amused, "You should apologise to my girlfriend first for saying lies about her."

He gaped at her, "What?"

"_Apologise_!"

"I'm sorry!" he quickly said, tilting his head to the side to look around the fuming Latina, so he could see Rachel clearly, "I'm sorry, alright? Sorry I hit on your girlfriend and sorry for lying."

Rachel shot him a painful smile. "Apology not accepted."

Santana smirked at him, "Now, that was good. I can trust you know that we won't be returning to this restaurant, even if I love me some breadsticks." she said, and just as she turned to leave, giving him a false sense of security, she swept right around on her feet and punched him right in the nose with the heel of her hand. He immediately bent over to grasp his hands to his nose, and Santana cursed loudly, because that fucking hurt.

"Bitch!" he yelled at her, before he turned around and ran through the door with the 'Staff only'- sign on it.

The Latina turned right around, and even though Rachel wasn't looking so amused with the show of violence, the diva couldn't hide her smile, when Santana placed an arm around her and soundly kissed her cheek. "Come on, Tiny, let's ditch this place."

Rachel chuckled in disbelief as they made their way towards the door, "Baby, you're-"

"-incorrigible?" Santana questioned, looking down at her with an amused smirk, "Yeah, I know."

Laughing, Rachel just pulled her down and kissed her.

* * *

_I am very, very, very, VERY sorry about the delay with this chapter! I have no idea what happened! Oh yes, I do.. Life happened. I need to find a new place to live, which is going to be fucking expensive, so I've just been working a lot more, and I'm still taking driver's lessons and preparing for the final exams. So yeah. I've been busy, but that does not excuse this late update. _

_I hope you liked it though! I wanted to do another day-to-day chapter to prepare for the weekend, where there will be cheerleading in Akron (with a surprise, hehehe), and the birthday brunch! This chapter was really difficult for me to write for some reason, so I also apologise if the start of it was a tad awkward. I was so happy that all of you liked the last chapter so much though; it felt really nice to get back on track, to, like, the essence of this story in a way, which made the last chapter fucking enjoyable to write! _

_So yeah. Two episodes of Glee have passed since I last posted? 'Born This Way' – I liked the Faberry parts, though I can't say I care much for the background story they've given Quinn. Lucy? Really? And 'Rumours' just made me really happy, though frustrated. I really liked that they were getting back to the Glee I remember from season one, the reasons why I fell in love with the show, though I can't say I care much for the ever-present Quinn/Finn/Rachel storyline. Just let Fuinn be Fuinn, and let Rachel move on! Oh yeah... And Naya Rivera? She just broke my heart. 'Songbird' was absolutely amazing, I had chills on my arms and tears in my eyes. It really made everyone see what us Santana fans already knew – that Santana has a lot of feelings, she just doesn't know how to handle them yet. But it was beautiful, it really was. _

_Oh. And the promo for next week? So fan-fucking-tastic. I cannot wait. _

_With that being said! I hope to update soon, but I really don't want to promise anything, as I'm still very busy. I'll try though, I really will. _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or RENT. _


	25. You're One Lucky Baby

**Chapter Twenty Five**

**You're One Lucky Baby**

Santana had always loved the atmosphere at these sort of cheerleading competitions. She loved the fact that everywhere she turned her head, girls were doing difficult jumps, training, working hard, and in general being serious athletes. She loved how all these girls cared so much about this; that they all wanted it _so badly _that they were willing to do practically anything to get it. She especially loved how everyone turned to look at them though, when the familiar colours of red and white made their way through the crowded hall, moving people out of the way as if they were Moses crossing The Red Sea.

Everyone knew about the Cheerios. Their reputation was extraordinary. Everyone loved them, feared them, _hated_ them. They all wanted to be them – or at least one of them. Or maybe have their talent. And Santana soaked up the glory that it was to walk right behind Quinn with Brittany by her side. She was no longer at the bottom of the pyramid; she was second-in-command, God-damnit, and she was going to enjoy this day.

There was tension on the team – not because they feared that they weren't going to win; they had this one in the bag already – but because even though the win was for certain, they still needed to do the best. There could be spies from other teams lurking anywhere, so their general behaviour – as well as their performance – was very important, and they had to do their utmost best.

"This is it, ladies," Coach Sylvester said, when they were done doing their warm-ups and had to go take a seat to wait for their turn, "today you will show me that you're not just a bunch of whimpering uncoordinated pussies. You will bring me to victory!"

"Yes Coach!" they all replied, and Santana caught Quinn's eyes across the circle, and she couldn't help but grin. They were _so_ ready for this.

Sue gave them all a pointed look, "I'm proud of you girls! We can't all be as gorgeous and talented as one Sue Sylvester, but you're a close second. Especially if I can get that trophy and rub it in Will Schuester's face!" she barked a laugh, "We all know he won't get his own winning trophy for Regionals, but you know what? I'm feeling rather generous today, so I might let him borrow mine. For ten seconds, he's going to stand with that trophy in his arms and know what it's like to be a _champion_." she sighed heavily. "Not that he'll ever experience it... Get some water, stay hydrated, girls, and find your seats. NOW!"

They all scrambled to find their seats in the crowd, and Santana found herself seated next to Quinn. She slumped back on the uncomfortable bench and heaved out a deep breath. She was kind of tired and worn out, even if she was ready to fight for the win. She just really hadn't been able to sleep that well yesterday, not after... well, that disastrous end on her date with Rachel. She couldn't believe that some people could be so stupid. That guy really deserved an ass-kicking, and she really wanted to sneak into his house one night and do something truly horrible to him.

He had some nerve, saying that to Rachel... Sure, it was one thing that he tried to hit on her, people got that all the time, at least, girls got that all the time. But to tell Rachel that she wasn't good enough? Santana had wanted to rip his head off. And even though Rachel had been cool about it after they left the restaurant, the Latina had been able to see that the comment had really gotten to her. She knew that Rachel had always been unsure about the way she looked, mostly due to the fact that other people kept reminding her that she didn't look like everyone else and that she wasn't pretty enough (Santana hated her own part in that... she so wished she could take it back now). Of course it would have gotten to her somehow. And even though she was more confident about it now, it seemed, Santana knew that her insecurities on that matter still somehow peeked. It didn't matter that Santana kept telling her otherwise either, because she was still going to believe she wasn't pretty enough.

Even if Santana thought that she was beautiful.

"How did your date go last night?" Quinn suddenly asked, as if she'd been reading the Latina's mind and thought she'd rub some salt in it.

Santana glared at her. "Everything was perfect-" she paused when Quinn raised a questionable eyebrow, "-no seriously, it fucking was! - Until some douche-bag decided to hit on me, and Rachel threw a hissy fit."

Quinn chuckled. "Oh really? Was it fun to watch?"

The Latina punched her friend roughly on the arm.

"Hey!" Quinn whined, "That hurt, bitch."

"It was _supposed_ to." Santana grumbled, before she continued with a sigh, "And no, it wasn't fun to watch. Especially not when the dude decided to tell her that I was way out of her league or some messed up shit. I mean, what the fuck? Rachel's gorgeous, like, legit the way that she smiles and everything, it can sometimes, y'know, take my breath away and stuff. And that mother-fucker has the nerve to tell her otherwise! I wanted to rip off his balls!"

Quinn furrowed her brow. "He really said that?"

Santana nodded. "Yeah... and, I don't know, I kept telling Rachel on the way home that she should just forget it, and that she's like, the most beautiful girl in the world, but I don't think she really believed me. She was all quiet and stuff. Which we all know is not Rachel."

The HBIC nodded in understanding.

The Latina continued, "I just wish I knew if she was still worrying about it. _I_ keep worrying about it, but I don't want _her_ to. But she was not answering my texts this morning, and when we said goodbye last night she just pecked my lips and went inside."

Brittany butted in then, from Quinn's other side, with her adorable smile, "Why don't you just ask her, San?"

"Ask who?" Quinn questioned, licking her lips briefly.

Brittany giggled, "Ask Rachel, of course! Now you're being silly, Q! We were just talking about her."

Santana gave Quinn a pointed smile, "Yeah, you're just being silly, Q!" she teased her as she nudged her foot with hers, before looking back at the taller blonde. "How would I ask her, though, Britt? I just said that she wasn't answering my texts."

Rolling her eyes, Brittany sighed heavily, "You don't have to _text _her, San," she explained as she shook her head, "you can just go across the gym." she finished, before she leaned back in her seat and continued to watch the – quite frankly – horrific cheerleading squad on the floor.

_What the fuck? _Santana felt her head snap to the side before her brain caught up with it, and scanning the crowd, it didn't take her two seconds to locate the tiny diva in the midst of all the other on-lookers. She was wearing a smile brighter than ever before as she waved eagerly at Santana. "Holy fuck." the cheerleader breathed, and she didn't know whether or not she should be pleased or worried about her presence. What the fuck was she doing there?

"Oh my God!" Quinn cheered teasingly and clapped her hands together to mock the Latina, "You girlfriend's here, S! That's so _sweet_."

Santana groaned, "Shut up, Quinn."

Leaning forward, Quinn continued to stare at Rachel with a sneaky smile on her lips, "Is she wearing..." she trailed off for a second or two, before she turned back to Santana with a bright smile, "Yes she _is_! She's wearing a _Team Santana_ t-shirt! How _cute_!"

Snapping her head to the side, Santana's eyes zoomed in on her girlfriend and she felt herself gasp dramatically. Rachel was still wearing her true Rachel Berry-smile, and she was pointing over-exaggeratedly to the white t-shirt she was wearing, which clearly, in bold, black letters, said 'Team Santana!'. The Latina heard herself groan.

Fuckety fucking fuck. _This is so not happening. _

"Hi!" Brittany exclaimed (even though Rachel couldn't possibly hear her) and waved happily across the gym, "Hi Rach! I love your t-shirt!"

Quinn laughed, and Santana resisted the urge to hit her once more. Sue probably wouldn't be so happy if she injured her head-cheerleader minutes before their competition.

She felt her phone buzz and bent her head to sneak a peek at her iPhone. It was from Rachel. Glancing briefly back at her girlfriend, who was now waving her phone at her, Santana bent to the side to shield whatever it was from Quinn. Opening the text, the message was pretty clear.

_Surprise, Baby! :) :) xoxo _

Santana felt herself warm slightly by the sweetness of that simple message, even though she was still very mortified that Rachel was spotting a t-shirt like that. She couldn't help but think that it was adorable of the other girl to plan something like this, just to support her. None of the other girls on the team had been surprised by their boyfriends, and Santana felt like she should consider herself lucky that Rachel cared that much. She just wished that her girlfriend would have been a bit more subtle about it.

They had to go on in like five minutes, so Santana quickly typed a response to the diva. After they were done, they were going to go into the changing rooms to change into a clean uniform and fix their make-up (they always did that, Sue didn't want them to walk around, looking sweaty and ugly, as she put it), so Santana figured she could tell Rachel to meet her outside the dressing room for a quick chat. She simply had to do something about the t-shirt.

"Alright team!" Quinn suddenly said and stood up from her seat, "Follow me, we're on in two minutes! Are you all ready?"

"Yes!" they chorused to get themselves pumped, and the entire squad followed their leader away from the benches into the little nook from where they'd come when their team was called.

Santana held her breath. Today she was going to win Regionals with the Cheerios, but two weeks from now... she was going to win Regionals with New Directions. And she could honestly say that – even though she was excited about today – she found herself looking even more forward to when she'd be standing there with Rachel by her side.

"And now!" the announcer dude said, causing all chatter to fade out in the full gymnasium, "From McKinley High in Lima, Ohio, we have the Cheerios, lead by Sue Sylvester!"

Everything blew up then, as everyone cheered them on, excited to see the true masters at work. And Santana felt her blood pump through her veins as she followed Quinn onto the floor.

They were going to fucking _kill_ it.

**x**

It was no surprise that they fucking _killed_ it.

Everyone was jumping around as they made their way down the hallway outside followed by thunderous applaud from inside the gym. Even Sue Sylvester cracked a smile, because even she couldn't deny that that was fucking perfect. The Latina found herself in the middle of a big three-way hug from her two favourite blonde cheerleaders, and after they released her, she gave Haylie a pad on the back for her good work. Santana didn't know what it was, but she'd grown a soft spot for the little red-head after what she'd said to her that day. No one needed to know though, but the Latina had a feeling that the younger girl really appreciated it, and looked up to her.

Suddenly she felt two very familiar arms wrap around her from behind, and Santana would recognize those arms anywhere, so she let herself relax against them for a second or two as they squeezed her tight.

"You were so perfect, Baby!" Rachel whispered, pressing a light kiss to her neck. "I kept telling the couple next to me that you're my girlfriend, but I don't suspect they cared too much. Which I really don't get."

Santana turned around in her arms, and even though she was horrified that her girlfriend was so eager to be proud of her and let everyone know it, she pressed her lips to Rachel's for a brief kiss, before she intertwined their hands. She sent a saying look in Quinn's direction, and when the blonde head-cheerleader gave her a nod of confirmation, Santana pulled the brunette off to the side, while Quinn ushered her team into the dressing room to get them to change and in some people's cases – shower.

"What are you doing here?" Santana breathed when they were standing up against the wall and Rachel was smiling happily at her. It came out a little more stand-offish than she'd wanted it to, but what the fuck was she going to do about it?

Rachel pouted, "I wanted to surprise you, Baby! Are you not happy I'm here?"

Santana couldn't help but smile at her and cup her chin. She was fucking thrilled that she was there, she just wished that she wouldn't always be so _there_. Why couldn't she just sit in the audience like a normal person and just watch her and support her from there? _Oh that's right..._ Santana reminded herself as she kissed the diva's lips once more, _she wouldn't be Rachel Berry if she was anywhere near subtle. _"I love that you're here." she whispered, before eyeing that t-shirt with disdain, "And I think that you look really cute, but..."

Rachel glanced down at her t-shirt for a second, and looked up then, scrunching up her nose. "But?"

"Did you have to write my name on your t-shirt? I'm like, the only Latina on our team, so everybody in that gym knew that it was me."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Santana felt really horrible about it. _And_ she knew that she'd said too much. She should have fucking kept quiet. Like fucking seriously. The crushed look on Rachel's face was not good for her heart, and especially not for the diva's confidence, which already took a severe hit yesterday.

Rachel huffed, "And so what?" she questioned, taking a small step back to create some space between them. "Are you embarrassed that people know you're my girlfriend?"

"No!" Santana quickly blurted out, because fuck, it wasn't even like that, but of course Rachel was going to assume that it was. "No Tiny, I-" she cut herself off and sighed, "Fuck, Tiny, it's just 'cuz even though we're, like, out at school, maybe we shouldn't just announce it everywhere."

Rolling her eyes, Rachel crossed her arms across her chest and stomped her foot. "Are we seriously going to have this conversation again, Santana?" she bit her lip and turned her head to the side, staring pointedly at the wall for a good thirty seconds, "We've come this far, and you're ready to go back into the closet with me?"

The Latina was digging herself into an even bigger hole with each word she said, and she could feel that. Fuck, you know! Like... why did she have to say stupid things like that? And why did she have to get embarrassed over some stupid t-shirt? It didn't even fucking matter, because if people had anything to say about it, they could just go fuck themselves instead. They just wished they had a hot-as-fuck midget girlfriend to support _them_!

"Rachel, I... I didn't mean it like that..." Santana mumbled then, awkwardly shuffling on her feet, as she looked up at her girlfriend, who'd, thankfully, turned her eyes back on her and was watching with a slightly open mouth. "You know I love how far we've come, and I love how you're so out-spoken and not afraid to be truly yourself, but... that's you, not me. I can be myself back at McKinley because that's familiar, I'm comfortable there and I can control those bitches, but..." she reached a hand out and grabbed Rachel's smaller one, squeezing it tightly, "It's different here, these are people that..."

"That you'll never see again." Rachel finished, but she didn't let go of her hand, which told Santana that on some level the other girl understood her. Sure, Santana had never been afraid to be herself, except when it came to her sexuality. Coming out in Lima had been huge, and she'd cried herself to sleep the first couple of days, and even _Rachel _didn't know that, only her mother did. It just wasn't easy for her to go around parading Rachel off as her girlfriend, especially not when this world still was full of morons.

Santana sighed. "I know, I'm just..."

Rachel offered her a little smile then, and stepped closer to her, wrapping her arms tightly around her midsection. She laid her head on her chest and rubbed her back, and Santana relaxed then, tugging the girl even closer, as her own head found a perfect spot on top of Rachel's. They stood like that for a few seconds, just breathing in and out, and there were people passing them in the hallway, and they could hear the music thumping from inside the gymnasium, but it felt good, and it was exactly what Santana needed right now.

"You know," Rachel murmured into her hair, "you're being silly, but I'm here for you. And it's gonna be alright, it's gonna be okay."

Santana sighed, no doubt in her mind that Rachel was right.

"Oh!" Rachel said then, pulling away from the Latina with a giant grin, "That reminds of this song I used to listen to!" she giddily said and opened her mouth to take in a breath.

Horrified that someone was going to hear, Santana lounged forward to cover her mouth with her hand, but unfortunately she wasn't quick enough, because Rachel was belting out the lyrics before she had time to stop her.

"_It's gonna be aaaalright, it's gonna be A – okay, I'm gonna stay by your side, girl, you make my day! It's gonna be aaaalright, don't you worry-_"

"Don't start singing!" the Latina hissed, and finally succeeded putting her hand across her mouth. Rachel just stared at her with displeased eyes, but she seemed to have gotten the hint, because she closed her mouth beneath the cheerleader's hand and continued to slowly giggle instead. Dropping her hand from her girlfriend's mouth, Santana rolled her eyes at her. "You're too much."

Rachel just smiled back at her, and Santana found herself grinning goofily back like some complete moron, and the two of them stared at each other for a little while, until someone cleared their throat next to them, and Santana's head snapped to the side, to see who dared interrupt the little sickenly cute lovefest she was having with her girlfriend. She paused though, when she came face to face with one of the most beautiful girls she'd ever seen. Like seriously. She was even more beautiful than Quinn. And she was taller than Brittany, and curvier, if that was even possible. And her beautiful long curls were framing her face delicately, while her pitch-black eyes shimmered with laughter.

"Am I interrupting something?" she questioned, and smoothed the top of her Camels cheerleading uniform down.

_She's from Carmel, _Santana thought, as she opened her mouth to tell her to get the fuck out of there and leave them alone, but before she actually had the chance to utter those words, Rachel had flung herself into the other girl's arms, and the Afro-American cheerleader was laughing while she spun them around in a little circle, lifting the little diva several inches over the floor.

Santana furrowed her brow and frowned. What the fuck?

Laughing, this girl placed a lingering kiss to Rachel's cheek as she placed her back onto the ground, "I'd know that voice anywhere, Ray." she whispered.

The Latina frowned even more. _Ray? What the frigging fucking frack? _

Rachel pealed herself out of her arms and said, "Mandy! What are you doing here?" she gasped as her eyes caught sight of the light blue and white colours of Carmel, "Are you a cheerleader now? I didn't see that one coming."

And suddenly everything fell into place for Santana. Mandy? Amanda. _Amanda Adams_. Azimio's little sister. The little sister who had had her tongue down her girlfriend's throat once upon a time. The girl who did not look anything like her big, lumpy brother, but actually the exact opposite. That was _so not _fair! No one ever told her that Amanda Adams was so beautiful. Seriously, stuff like that should come with a warning. Like, when you get a girlfriend you really love and want to keep, there should be a label for these sort of things. 'Warning: Comes with stunning ex-girlfriend'. Yeah, that sounded about right in Santana's ears.

How was this – in any way – fucking fair?

Amanda did a funny little twirl on the tips of her toes. "Well, I had to do something with a bit of a resemblance to ballet. I would have joined Vocal Adrenaline since they're our school's royalty, but I can't carry a tune – you remember that don't you? - and show choir never really did anything for me."

Rachel's light laughter rung out in the almost empty hallway. "Oh, you could sing just fine, Mandy! But I'm sure you're a wonderful cheerleader, too."

Amanda shrugged her shoulders, and Santana didn't miss the way that her eyes surveyed over Rachel's lithe body in an appreciative way, before they locked onto Rachel's face again, just shining with love and adoration. Santana felt her throat grow tighter for a second, before she was met with those black eyes herself, and the other girl frowned slightly.

Sensing the awkwardness, Rachel quickly took a step to the side, and Santana was relieved when she claimed her rightful spot by wrapping an arm around her waist like she usually would. "Oh Mandy! This is my girlfriend." she said and smiled brightly up at Santana, which made the cheerleader feel even better.

The other cheerleader stuck her hand out, "I'm Amanda Adams. I assume your name is Santana?" she laughed, nudging her head towards the infamous t-shirt.

The Latina made sure to squeeze her hand a little too tightly. "That's right. You're Azimio's sister?"

The black girl nodded.

"He's a douche."

"Santana!" Rachel gasped, slapping her lightly on the stomach, just to prove her point.

The other girl didn't look offended, but Santana made sure to add to it, "Don't say he's not, Tiny, he's been slushying you for two years. He's a moron."

Rachel shot Amanda an apologetic smile. "Perhaps he's a bit of a Neanderthal..." she trailed off, but it only lasted a second, before she drew in a new breath and brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear, "So how are you doing? Are you dating?"

Amanda shook her head. "No. I mean... I go on the occasional date with some boys just to keep my parents off my back. Everyone at home knows I'm gay, but they all like to pretend that I'm just focusing on school and that's why I don't bring boys home." she shuffled on her feet and nudged the toe of her shoe into the ground, "There's not really any interesting girls here either... No one I just click with. Like you, Ray."

The diva's grip tightened around Santana's waist for a second. "Oh..."

"But I see you're dating!" the other girl continued, wearing a smile that looked absolutely forced. "And you're out and everything?" she paused while Rachel offered a nod, "That's really good for you guys." she turned to Santana then and smiled softly at her, "You're lucky to have her."

"We've been together for a few months." Santana just replied, to make sure that the other girl knew her limits; the Latina knew she was lucky to have Rachel, she didn't need some stranger telling her that, and she really couldn't explain why, but just the way that the other girl looked at her midget? It was unsettling. Plus... there was just something with the way that Rachel looked at her, too, and it worried Santana, it really did.

She didn't want to sound like some fucking moron, but crap. She was worried about this.

There was an uncomfortable, tension-filled silence between them then, as Santana clung tightly onto Rachel, and the blast from the past tilted back and forth on her feet. Rachel was glancing at her though, wearing that award winning smile, and all they could hear was their breathing as it rasped in and out.

Swallowing loudly, Amanda said then, "You look really good though, Ray." she nodded her head slightly, "You still work out, I reckon?"

"Yes, you know me." Rachel smiled as she slipped slightly from Santana's side, "I have my specific workout regimen, and I must stay true to it. I'm still following my special diet, too."

Turning her wrist over as Amanda responded and she tuned her out, Santana knew that she had to go inside and change now, because the winner would be announced shortly, and she had to be ready before so. But she wasn't really feeling that great about leaving Rachel and this person alone. What would happen if she did? She sighed though, because she didn't want to get her ass chewed out by Quinn or Coach Sylvester. Grabbing Rachel's shoulder, she cut the diva off mid-ramble and threw her a sideways grin, "I'm gonna go change." she whispered, before she placed her lips to Rachel's for good measure.

And she might've thrown a saying glare in Amanda's direction as she turned on her heel and caught her eye. Just might've. But she could hear her and Rachel continue their chatter until the door into the dressing room was shut firmly behind her, and as soon as it was, she groaned loudly and stomped across the floor with thumping feet.

Brittany gave her a questionable look as she pulled off her top and threw it on the bench next to the blonde. "What's wrong, S?" she asked, and the concern in her voice was just adorable.

The Latina ignored her for a second and angrily pulled down her skirt and spanks, too, in rough movements, before she kicked off her sneakers and they hammered against the wall, which caused Quinn to turn to her too with a raised eyebrow.

"S?" she hissed.

Santana cursed beneath her breath and ripped the towel out of her bag. "There's a fucking hot cheerleader outside – _hitting on my girlfriend_!"

The look on Quinn's face was one of pure confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Remember when Rachel told you about her past experience with Azimio's little sister?" she groaned as she tugged the towel beneath the water in the sink and tried to quickly clean herself in the face and other important places. "She's on Carmel's fucking cheerleading team and she just so happened to come by and see Rachel, and when I left them out there, _talking_, she was eye-fucking my girlfriend!"

At some point, the tone of her voice had reached shrill, but she was pass the point of really caring. That damn hottie outside and her damn way of knowing Rachel – and things about Rachel – that Santana never would due to obvious reasons. Fucking fuck and crap and damn and shit and other stuff, too! _She's going to take my girlfriend, I know it, she's going to hit on her!_

Brittany placed a comforting hand on Santana's arm, "San, you should totally just calm down. Rachel's like super in love with you, so even though Azimio's sister eye-fucks her, she'd never eye-fuck her back."

Quinn nodded. "She does have a point, S."

"You didn't fucking see her!" Santana argued as she leaned down to pull on a clean pair of spanks and a clean sports-bra, "You weren't fucking there to see how pretty she was. Not at all like her fucking brother, no!" she shook her head and reached for her skirt, "She was all tall and beautiful and '_Ray, you look so pretty, do you still work out_?'!" she bit her lip and sat down on the bench then, wrapping her head inside her hands.

Quinn sighed heavily. "Why are you jealous? Santana, that's not like you. And plus, Rachel loves you. She drove all the way out here by herself to support you today, and she's wearing a 'Team Santana' t-shirt. What does that tell you? She's nuts about you."

Santana just mumbled. "You didn't see her..." she trailed off, and stared up at her oldest friend then, willing her to see that this was a serious problem. She wanted Quinn to get it, because Brittany sure as fuck wouldn't understand, but Quinn might. Quinn had to. "She hasn't been dating anyone, and she obviously liked Rachel again the second she saw her!" she groaned, "And Rachel? Rachel looked at her like the sun shines out of her ass or somethin'."

Quinn furrowed her brow for a second, before she turned around on her heel and crossed the dressing room. With one hand on the doorhandle, she told everyone to shut the fuck up, before she pulled the door open and peeked outside with one eye. Santana could only see her back and nothing else, and everyone was watching their head-cheerleader, barely comfortable with breathing. The blonde girl only had the door open for about twenty seconds or so, before she let it fall shut with a barely audible clasp.

She turned around then and looked at Santana uncertainly. "Holy shit, she really is stunning." she breathed out then, and Santana leaned back and clonked her head into the wall.

As all talk resumed in the dressing room and Quinn returned and took a seat next to her on the bench, Brittany wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders and brushed her hair away from her forehead. "San, you're really super stunning too, and you know what? Rachel doesn't wanna date this other girl, she wanna date you, because you're, like, her crab and stuff."

Turning her head to the side, the Latina sighed. "What do you mean, I'm her crab?"

"When they're old," Brittany replied in a 'you should seriously know this, and why don' you?'-sort of way, as she pulled her arm away and linked her fingers together, "they walk in the tank, holding the claws."

Quinn snorted.

Santana closed her eyes; she so did not have the energy to deal with this right now, but she knew she had to. "What? I – I'm sorry, I don't get it, Britt. In the tank?"

Brittany nodded eagerly. "Yeah! They hold the claws, in the tank. Phoebe Buffay told me, and she's like, my idol because she's the best singer in the world, right after me, of course. And my favourite song is _My Headband_, but right after that it's _Smelly Cat_, because it's about a cat, and it always gets Charity and Lord Tubbington very happy when they're both on Atkins and eating a lot of cheese." she nodded again, "I saw it on TV with my friends."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I saw that too, B, and I'm pretty sure that those weren't crabs, but lobsters."

"That's what I said." Brittany replied, before she did the claw-thing again with a saying smile in Santana's direction.

Turning her head to the side, the Latina stared at her other blonde friend with a desperate look on her face, and Quinn took mercy on her; kneeling down in front of her, the HBIC placed her hands on Santana's knees and pulled her nose to Santana's so their faces were inches apart. "Listen to me Santana Lopez," she whispered in a firm voice, "that girl might have had something with Rachel once upon a time, but _you_'re her girlfriend. She's dating _you_! She loves you more than anything, it shines right out of her whenever she's with you. And you need to get over these stupid insecurities that you're feeling right now, because it's really quite pathetic and not at all the girl I know and love. So you get dressed and you march your butt out there and let her know who got the girl, okay?"

Santana stared right into those familiar brown eyes, and the power inside of them told her that she could do this; she _had _to do this. So she gave a sharp nod, before she stood up abruptly and stepped aside Quinn. She grabbed her Cheerios top and told Brittany to take care of her shit, before she marched right out of that dressing room with determination.

But she so wouldn't have had to worry, because the second she came outside, she found Rachel (alone) leaning against the wall. The diva lit up completely when she saw who it was, and Santana stepped closer, placing a lingering kiss on her cheek.

"You all clean now?" Rachel whispered, letting her hands roam down the cheerleader's body in appreciation. "I'm sorry about the t-shirt. I won't ever wear it again." she promised.

Santana shrugged her shoulders, because that fucking didn't matter. "What happened to Amanda?" she questioned instead. She couldn't quite shake the feeling that something wasn't really as it was supposed to.

Rachel lightly replied, "She had to go with her team. They're getting ready to announce the winners soon."

Why did it feel like there was something Rachel wasn't telling her?

"You're gonna win, Baby." Rachel whispered, before she pulled the Latina's head down for a kiss; their lips mashing together as they stood in the empty hallway. Santana couldn't help but let herself sink into the kiss, even though something still felt slightly off. She enjoyed it though, and couldn't ignore the flutter of her heart when Rachel breathed out her name, before she placed her head on her chest and closed her eyes to breathe her in.

Santana let her head rest on top of hers and her arms wrap around her then, holding onto the moment for a little while longer.

The two were only broken out of their little spell, when the door to the dressing room was smacked open and her team emerged. "S!" Quinn barked as she passed her, and Brittany stood there, holding out her duffel bag, "We need to get into the gym. Get in position."

"We probably won't see each other afterwards, because we're going to celebrate with Coach." Santana quickly told Rachel as she brushed a piece of her hair back.

The diva grinned. "I'll see you tomorrow then? _For your birthday_." she sang.

Santana gave her lips another peck in excitement, before she grabbed her duffel bag and turned around on her heel, running down the hallway to catch up with the rest of her team. They had to go get that fucking trophy.

* * *

_I'm back! A little quicker than before, thank you very much ;-) I hope that you enjoyed this chapter; after much contemplating and haven been asked a bunch of times about Amanda, I decided to bring her into the story. Up until this point I really hadn't decided, partly because I still wasn't sure in which direction I wanted the end to go, but now I'm certain, so I brought Amanda in for a little colour and drama. I hope that's alright with everybody :) next chapter is Santana's birthday! _

_And about last chapter... Some of you were furious about the waiter dude, and I understand that. Had someone said that to my girl, I would have decked him, too. But it does happen a lot, especially when girls are out together. I've seen it happen to my friends a lot of times. Some idiot always thinks that he can hit on someone or comment on their relationship, it's nauseating. Oh. And just to make it clear to everybody! I think Lea Michele is absolutely stunning, as if my big inappropriate celebrity crush on her isn't proof of that. But on the show the general idea has been that Rachel is not pretty – at least that's what everyone seems to believe, whereas Santana has always been one of the pretty girls. So I just wanted to stay true to the idea of the show, and a big part of Rachel is her insecurities about her looks and being compared to Santana AND Quinn. So yeah. I'm sorry if I got some of you upset with that, but rest assured, Lea Michele is gorgeous in my eyes :) _

_I can't wait for **Prom Queen**, I seriously cannot. The FIVE songs are all fantastic (I am not going to comment on Friday, because in my opinion, that noise is not a song – no offence to anyone who might actually like Rebecca Black?), but I especially really loved Rachel singing Jar of Hearts. And I can't wait to have Jesse back – hopefully it'll be interesting, and I love me some Jon Groff ;-) _

_Thanks for reading! :D_

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee, or RENT or not Friends either (which is where the lobster comment is from... I used to be obsessed with that show!). Oh. And the song that Rachel sang some lyrics of? It's called 'It's Gonna Be Alright' and it's by Zididada. _


	26. You Love the Limelight

_**Warning: **There's a bit of sexy-times in the last scene of this chapter. You know, it's Santana's birthday after all, so ;-) _

**Chapter Twenty Six **

**You Love the Limelight **

When the doorbell rang, Santana's head shot up from where she'd been sitting, hunched over a soft present from Tina and Mike, but as soon as she saw that Julita had made her way across the room to go into the hall to open the front door, Santana threw the gift aside and squeezed her way though the crowd that had gathered around her to watch her open up her presents.

"I'm opening the fucking door!" she hollered to the older Lopez girl, who just laughed in return, "It's my birthday, bitch!" she mumbled and launched forward to grab her sister by the arm and haul her back.

Julita hissed. "Santa! I was just being helpful."

The doorbell rang again.

Santana snorted, "No you weren't, hermanita, you were being a complete idiota." she snarled and turned around to pull the door open, plastering a giant fake smile on her face. However, as soon as the people on the other side of the door was revealed, the smile turned true. "Tiny!" she mumbled, before she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend.

Today was the fucking best day in for-fucking-ever. It was her birthday, and she had a girlfriend, and her friends were there. And they won Regionals yesterday, and everything was fucking awesome. She'd never had a girlfriend (or a boyfriend for that matter) on her birthday, and she had a feeling that it was going to be entirely special. Especially if said girlfriend was Rachel Berry.

"Happy birthday, Baby!" Rachel whispered into her ear as she pulled out of her hug and continued to kiss her deeply. "I can hardly believe it! You're 18 now, Santana."

The Latina grinned goofily at her. "Yeah, you were always the little one, Tiny."

Rachel stuck her tongue out at her and stepped pass her to give Julita a hug as well. Santana grinned at Leroy and Hiram, who pulled her in for a warm three-way hug. It was so nice of them to come today. Her parents really wanted to meet them, had wanted to for a while, since they were absolutely certain the the Misters Berry had to be wonderful people, since Rachel was such a great girl. But that hadn't necessarily meant that the two men had wanted to come. But they'd seemed so excited about it; thrilled to be included even. And Santana figured that they might as well start getting to know the entire Lopez clan, because she had a feeling that there would be plenty of Berry-Lopez gatherings in the future.

At least if she had anything to say about it. _At all_.

"Happy birthday!" Leroy smiled and thrust a gift into Santana's hands. "My favourite Latina girl."

Hiram nodded dramatically with a hand on his heart. "I can't believe it either. 18 years old. Santana, Santana, Santana. Why are you girls growing up so quickly!"

She gave Hiram a light pad on the arm and shrugged her shoulders, "Come meet Mamá and Papá, they can't wait to meet you!"

The two Berry men followed her inside – Hiram giddily, and Leroy with a bit more pride – and she introduced them to her parents. Her mother immediately started asking a lot of questions, so Santana retired to the chair she'd been occupying earlier, thinking that it might be a good idea to finish opening those presents. She couldn't wait to see what Rachel had gotten her, but there were a bunch of other gifts to open, too. Rachel was chatting away with Puck and Brittany, and Santana let, for the first time that day, her eyes sweep appreciatively over her girlfriend's form as she took a seat.

And holy fucking shit.

What was Rachel _wearing_?

That was so not an outfit she'd seen before, and it looked... _hot_. Her hobbit girlfriend was wearing a pair of black strappy heels that Santana somehow knew would just make Rachel taller than her for the day. Her calves looked absolutely lickable in them, but that wasn't even the most jaw-dropping thing about her. She was wearing a suit. Sort of. _Kind of_. If Santana would even go as far as to call it a suit. It was made out of black fabric that appeared sort of shiny in the light in the dining room. But it wasn't the traditional long pants that most suits were made with; these were shorts. Like, tiny, itsy-bitsy shorts. They cut off in the middle of her thigh, and snuggled around the diva's butt, before ending around her waist. On top of that, she was wearing a jacket made of the same fabric. The sleeves went to her elbows, and it only had one button, and Santana felt herself drool a little bit when she realised that Rachel was only wearing a bra beneath it.

She did not know _who_ she had to thank for making Rachel buy that outfit, but she felt fairly certain that the someone was inside her house right now.

On top of everything, the diva was pulling off her usual light make-up, but her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail with her bangs swept carelessly to the side. The Latina could feel an instant heat in her pants and she squirmed slightly in her seat as she grabbed the discarded present from Mike and Tina and started to unwrap it.

She had a feeling that today was going to be a good day – much better than yesterday, that was for sure. Of course yesterday had been frigging fucking awesome too, considering they brought home that giant trophy and spent the rest of the evening celebrating at Brittany's house, but it had also been slightly disturbing to her, because... because she hadn't been able to shake off that feeling – you know, the one where she felt like something wasn't really right. But at this moment, she couldn't feel it at all. Rachel was acting the way she always was, albeit slightly more enthusiastic and giddy because of the special occasion. And Santana thought that maybe it had all been in her mind yesterday, that maybe she'd just felt intimidated because Amanda had been right there and it had surprised her.

"Rachel looks really hot today, San." Brittany informed her, as she and Artie came rolling across the floor, the gift placed inside her lap, and her placed inside Artie's lap.

Santana could do nothing but agree. "Fuck yeah! I'ma _so_ get some awesome birthday sex later."

"You can thank me." Kurt swept into the conversation, as he leaned down and placed a lingering kiss on her cheek, before nudging Blaine forward, who sheepishly handed her their present, "It's clothes, God knows you need to sometimes dress a little less like a lesbian. Or you could just dress as a fashionable lesbian, that would be okay too."

Santana didn't want to tell him off, because today was her birthday and she was going to be the bigger person. "Why can I thank you?"

Kurt rolled his eyes at her. "Who do you think got divalicious to buy that outfit, Ms. Santana Lopez?" he shook his head to himself and straightened down his dress shirt, "We were at one of my favourite couture boutiques and there it was, right in her size and everything. We only had to have Mercedes take it in a little around the waist, and of course her lack of chest was also a problem, but the ending result could not have been better."

Santana shared a look with Blaine, who looked just about ready to crack up. She bit her lip.

The male diva continued with a dramatic sigh. "I told her that this was something she should wear. Any lesbian with pride in herself owns a suit. It just so happens that I can picture the two of you – years in the future, I might add – walking down the red carpet, with Rachel wearing something like that, and you looking absolutely stunning in a red piece designed by moi."

The Latina reached out and gently hit the boy across his leg. "Shut up, Kurt!"

"Ouch!" he said, "I bruise like a peach, Santana. Bruise like a peach!" he informed her, before he turned around to go across the room and find something to eat at the buffet. Blaine shrugged his shoulders to the cheerleader before he quickly turned around on his heel and followed his boyfriend.

Leroy and Hiram showed up then, and Santana offered them a giant smile, before she found their present in the pile on the table next to her. She made a big show of trying to shake it to hear what was inside, because she could see that it made Hiram very giddy. She had no idea what it was though, it was just a square box, but it did rattle a little as she shook it. She bit her lip in wonderment and quickly tore the wrapping paper off.

What she came face to face with made her, at first, very confused... until she realised what it was and a burst of happiness shot through her like never before. Glancing up at the two men, she could not hide the smile on her face. "You shouldn't have!" she said, and before she could help herself, she wrapped her arms around first Leroy then Hiram and thanked them both properly with a kiss to each of their cheeks, like Rachel always did.

Leroy smiled warmly at her. "It's because we're so tired of listening to Rachel complain about the fact that you always steal hers and change all the settings. The numbers never fit, because even though she's smaller than you, she weighs more."

"_Dad_!" they heard Rachel complain from somewhere, and Leroy chuckled.

Santana opened the box with her fingers and excitedly pulled out the familiar watch – or rather, heart rate monitor. It was the best one on the market and Rachel had actually gotten hers for Hannukah, before they even started hanging out. The diva always used it for whatever training she did; it mapped out her routes using satellites and she had complete control over how far she'd gone and for how long she'd been at it. After borrowing it one time just to see if it was something Santana wanted to get herself, she'd loved the way that it made everything that much more easier, and had taken to stealing Rachel's everytime it was possible. The only downside was that you had to type in your height and your weight for the measurements to be accurate, and since Rachel had no idea how to set the settings herself (she was such a technology spas), it had been a while since she'd actually been able to use it, since no one bothered to do it for her.

(It was much more fun to see her get frantic when she couldn't figure it out, and then get angry and insulted when no one bothered to help her).

The Latina glanced up at her in-laws again and softy said, "Thank you _so_ much." That wasn't a cheap watch, it really wasn't.

After that, Santana continued to open the rest of her presents and she got a lot of different things; but the most awesome gifts were from the people in Glee Club because they knew her better than she'd thought they did. Rachel's presents was fucking incredible too. The other girl had ordered a bunch of band t-shirts online, because it wasn't just easy to find them in Lima, Ohio, so these were some of the older ones too, and Santana couldn't wait to wear them. She was disappointed for a second though, because she'd thought that Rachel would have come up with something grand.

Later when every one was scattered around the house, Santana was sitting around a table with Rachel on her right and Brittany on her left, and the rest of her friends were there too, and they were all just goofing off and having fun. The food was of the usual kind, and Finn, Puck and Lauren tried absolutely everything on the table. Santana hadn't been able to eat much, because she'd been basking in the attention that she'd been receiving all day. She wasn't an attention whore, but she did like it whenever it happened. She was awesome, so why the fuck shouldn't people notice her? Just sayin'.

Her hand was resting on Rachel's thigh though, because there was just a ridiculous amount of skin on display, and Santana was certain that several other people around the table was loving the diva's outfit a bit too much as well (Finn and Puck, those fuckers, they _so_ had to learn what was theirs to ogle and what was not). Santana just couldn't help but let her fingers sneak closer and closer to one of her favourite spots, and when she tilted her head just right, she could gaze right into Rachel's incredible cleavage and imagine what would happen later when she was able to get the diva's breasts out of that lace bra.

She felt like there was an ocean in her pants, but what the fuck could she do about it?

Oh yeah. It was her birthday and her house and her girlfriend. She could do whatever _the fuck_ she pleased.

"Tiny," she rasped out then, pushing her chair back and standing up, only to glance down at her girlfriend, who was looking up at her with wide eyes. "I need to pee."

Rachel shot her a funny look, "You don't need to tell me that, just go pee, Baby." she replied, before she turned her attention back to Blaine and Kurt.

Santana poked a finger into her shoulder and said, "Would you come with me?"

Turning around, Rachel arched an eyebrow, "I know we're close in the most intimate of ways, Santana, and I know that some girls like to go to the bathroom together, but if you don't mind, I'd really rather _not_ watch you pee when I _know_ I'm going to put my mouth there later." her lips quivered into a small smile. "Just go pee by yourself."

The Latina barely managed to resist rolling her eyes at her absolute clueless girlfriend. It was cute, how Rachel was becoming more blunt and confident (Santana was certain that she was rubbing off on her... hehe, her mind just went to a dirty place there), but was she not being very obvious when she said that she had to 'pee'? As in _not really_, but let's just go to the bathroom to make out? "Can't you just come with me, Tiny?" she continued, ignoring the way that Puck snorted at her from across the table, and the way that Kurt was having a silent fit, since Rachel seemed to not get it at all.

"Santana!" Rachel continued, now clearly annoyed, "Why don't you just go by yourself – it's your house!"

"Rachel, sweetie," Kurt butted in from behind her, clearly losing his patience with their favourite diva, "I don't think Santana needs to pee at all. You look hot today – and let's face it, we can all thank me for that – so she's probably spotting a lady boner for you right about now. She wants to get her mack on with you in the bathroom."

It seemed like a light bulb went on inside Rachel's head at this point, and the diva gave Santana a questionable look, before she sighed heavily. "Oh." she whispered, "Well then... on second thought, I think I need to pee as well."

The Latina couldn't keep the grin off her face when she grabbed Rachel's hand firmly and pulled her towards the hallway. She ignored the catcalls coming for their friends, and when she pushed Rachel into the bathroom, she roughly turned the lock behind them and proceeded to back her up against the wall. Their lips met in a sloppy kiss, and Santana couldn't restrain herself for two seconds longer – she unbuttoned the diva's jacket and let both her hands travel up her taunt stomach to cover both of her breasts.

Their kiss swallowed Rachel's moan, and the cheerleader pulled away to nuzzle her nose into the side of the diva's neck. "You look fucking gorgeous today, Rachel..." she whispered, her lips brushing against the tan skin on her neck; she could practically feel the rhythm of her quickening pulse beneath it.

Rachel chuckled, "Well, it's your birthday, so I thought I'd... dress up." she mumbled, her hands brushing down Santana's back in a soothing motion.

The Latina pulled back then and placed her forehead against Rachel's, their eyes locking firmly, "Thank you for driving all the way out there yesterday. I'm sorry I got so stupid. I'm glad that you were there."

The diva's smile was soft and honest when she replied in a throaty whisper, "Perhaps the t-shirt was a bit much... I've been told before that I go overboard. But it's just because I care so much, you know."

"I do know." Santana whispered back, pressing their lips together once more. She really felt the urge to ask the other girl more about Amanda and what had happened, because they'd barely talked about it, but damn... she didn't want to get into this now, even though it was killing her. Rachel probably wouldn't be too thrilled if she brought it up; she'd be able to see right through her; she did that, knew exactly what she was thinking sometimes, without Santana ever saying a word.

Rachel's eyes fluttered close for a second, before she opened them again and stared at the Latina so adoringly. "I'll be spending the night. Dad and Daddy already said it was okay, and I have a surprise for you."

Santana felt her grin broadening, threatening to overtake her face completely, "Do I get more presents?"

"Baby..." Rachel whispered, letting her tongue out to wet her lips in a motion Santana found entirely too hot, "You didn't think that those silly t-shirts would be your only present, did you?" she mumbled, finishing with a look of pure innocence.

The Latina could do nothing but gape at her. Right there, all the stuff, that was the reason this girl was so seriously fucking awesome. She pulled these numbers on her, like, where she had no idea what was happening, and then something awesome always did. She caught her off guard, on several occasions, and the Latina had no freaking idea how it was fucking possible. But she loved this girl. She really fucking did.

A few rapid knocks on the door made the two girls turn their heads to the side in surprise.

"Satan!" they heard Julita tease from the other side, "Pull your tongue out of Rachel's throat and come into the living room. Mamá is getting ready to talk soon."

Santana rolled her eyes, "Go away, hermanita, and let me fuck my girlfriend in peace."

They heard someone gasp. "Santana said a bad word! She said a bad word!"

_Oscar._

"You're not..." Julita trailed off, obviously searching for another word than 'fuck' since Oscar was right there, "...doing _that_." she finished, and Santana chuckled, "I know you're not because Rachel's really effing loud and we've all been able to eat in peace. Just come out, would you?"

Rachel was offended, of course. "Why does everyone say I'm loud? I'm not that loud, am I?" she questioned, turning to Santana with sparkling eyes.

The Latina kissed her nose. "You're really fucking loud, Rach, and it's really fucking hot." she finished, before she pulled away and grabbed the diva's hand. She unlocked the door and came face to face with a smirking Julita and a beaming Oscar.

Julita snorted, "Are you both finished _peeing_?" she questioned, and with a raised eyebrow motioned towards Rachel, "Your button's undone."

Rachel gasped, but with a bit of dignity quickly buttoned her jacket again and straightened her shoulders. "We're both finished peeing, yes." she said, before she pecked Santana lightly on the cheek, grabbed Oscar's hand and hurried down the hallway towards the dining room.

The oldest Lopez daughter was grinning mercilessly.

"Don't," Santana hissed, turning on her heel, "don't say a fucking word."

Julita laughed, "My lips are sealed."

They entered the living room again, and Santana stopped dead in her tracks when she realised that everyone had turned to look at her. Her mother was standing in front of the buffet and she was – oh fuck no! - she was holding a crumbled piece of paper. She looked beautiful and stoic and in control, just like Santana could see herself in thirty years or so. And she was her mother, the woman who'd always been there for her. So even though she was most likely going to completely humiliate her with whatever she had planned, Santana was going to let her have this one.

She hurried across the floor and reclaimed her chair next to Rachel, who immediately tucked their hands together.

"Santana, mija," Carla begun, brushing her long ponytail behind her shoulder and straightening up her back, "you're turning 18 today. You're officially a woman. I know that in our culture, for girls at least, this transition is celebrated with a quinceañera, but to me you were not a woman when you turned 15." she shook her head to herself, "You were still just my little girl, you had no idea who you were or who you were going to be as a person – you had no idea in which direction you were headed. All of that changed since then, you changed since then. Now you know, I can see that you're turning into someone good, someone that I can be proud of. And really, all of that happened in these past few months. They've been very eventful for you."

Santana felt Rachel give her hand a hard squeeze, because she was so not prepared for this kind of speech, but apparently her mother was adamant about doing it. She did not do tears well though, so she fucking hoped that her mother didn't let the waterworks start.

Carla continued, with a loving gaze at her youngest daughter, "It all changed when you started dating Rachel." she breathed out, "That beautiful young woman next you, she changed you a lot. 'Cuz you were lost, mija, and we could all see it, it worried your father and I. I kept telling him, 'Alejandro, we need to do something, don't you see it, our little girl is not happy', and he said to me 'Carla, I think that Santana needs to figure this out for herself'. By 'figuring it out' he of course meant what defines you the most – the fact that you're gay."

The cheerleader let her eyes sweep across the familiar faces of her family, her bothers, her sister-in-law, her abuela and, finally, her father. He smiled at her, a little smile, and she knew that it was all okay. She had the most supporting parents and she was thankful for that, because she knew that it hadn't been easy for them. She could sometimes see her father struggling with things, but he'd pushed it all aside to be there for _her_.

"When you brought Rachel home, you didn't give us a warning, you just brought her over one Sunday, much like today and said to us, 'This is Rachel, she's my girlfriend', and it might have shocked us a bit more, if it hadn't been for the fact that we already knew." she paused again and grinned a little, "We had this conversation, a long time ago, your Papá and I. We could see that there were boys in your life, but you didn't like them. We could see that you were not like the other girls on the playground and I had my suspicions. Your father, he had his fears. He said to me one evening, 'Carla, I fear that our little girl might be a _lesbiana_' and I could tell that it scared him, so I said to him, 'I know'. And we talked about it, mija, because we knew it was important, and we wanted to be there for you whenever you realised it – whenever you were _ready_ to realise it – yourself. It wasn't easy for your Papá, he feared that you were going to get a horrible life, that you would never find love."

Santana could feel this weird clench around her heart, almost as if was impossible to breathe. It was so weird, hearing her mother say these things, hearing her admit what they had been through, just to make it easier for her. She was so proud of them, and she felt so blessed for having parents like them, who were willing to go through so much just for her sake.

Carla crumbled her paper and let it fall the the ground as she finished, "But then you met Rachel, and we could see that you were happy, and that you were getting comfortable with who you are. I don't suspect it's been easy for Rachel down this road, because you're stubborn, niña. But you're here now, and you've turned into this young adult that we can all see will get very far in life. And we're so proud of you for getting through all of this and for coming to terms with who you are. We love you, Santana, more than anything. And we will be proud to see you off someday, so you can get the future that you want in a place that's far away from here. You're 18 today, and in no more than a year or so, you'll be ready to leave us for good."

"To Santana!" Alejandro said then, standing up from his seat and raising his cup of coffee.

The rest of the people inside the room did the same, and Santana felt a feverish blush rise up her cheeks when everyone looked at her and said her name. Rachel giggled mercilessly next to her and leaned closer, whispering in her ear, "Admit it Baby, you love being the centre of attention, too."

Santana could do nothing but glare at her, as she grabbed her glass of juice and pretended to be very interested in her plate.

"So Rachel," Quinn said then, which caused Santana to snap her head up in surprise as she looked at her head-cheerleader, "who was that girl yesterday? I heard through the grapevine that you were talking to one of the Camels." she arched an eyebrow and Santana felt her stomach do a flip-flop.

_She did not just fucking go there._ Except, fuck it, she did, and now Santana was curious to know what Rachel was going to say.

Rachel took a sip of her coffee and pretended that it was no big deal, even though she was a horrible liar, and everybody could see that it was. "Oh. That was an old friend of mine."

"Who?" Quinn continued to ask, even though she fucking knew.

The diva wetted her lips, "If you must know, Quinn, it was Amanda with whom I used to do ballet." she paused and her eyes shot lightening as she glanced at the blonde girl. "Why do you ask?"

Quinn shrugged her shoulders and glanced briefly at Santana, "Oh for no reason... She was pretty."

Santana squirmed uncomfortably in her seat.

Rachel replied, "Yes, Amanda is quite beautiful, she always has been." she paused, "Was there a point to this conversation? She's just an old friend."

The HBIC arched an eyebrow, "No reason. Just curious."

And Santana fucking knew that she had to talk about this with Rachel. For real. Because she hadn't just been imagining things yesterday, she'd actually felt them. Rachel had gotten all tense again the second that Amanda was brought up, and Santana did not like that, she did not like it at all. But it was going to have to wait, because this was her birthday and she didn't want to ruin it with a possible – _gulp_ – fight. All of that could wait, tonight she was just going to enjoy her girlfriend.

**x**

"Santana, mija! Lock the door and keep it quiet, ¡por favor!"

Chuckling at her mother's outburst, Santana smacked the door to her bedroom close and turned the lock with happiness bubbling in her stomach. She turned around and came face to face with Rachel who was blushing a deep red while looking completely mortified.

"This is so bad, they all know what we're going to do up here, Santana!" she whined, placing a hand to her forehead.

The Latina took a step closer and gently tilted her girlfriend's head up so they could lock their eyes together. "And so what? That doesn't matter, Tiny. I'm pretty sure that they all know we've been having sex. Besides, it's my birthday... so Mamá will pretend that we're not bumping uglies, even though she knows we are."

Rachel shook her head to herself and let her hands fall to hang limply by her sides. "It _is_ your birthday." she whispered, a small smile conquering her face.

Santana nodded, "Hell yeah it is..." she whispered, as she slowly reached her hands out and ran them up the diva's sides, beneath that jacket, "And you've been teasing me all day, 'cuz you look hot as fuck."

The singer automatically took a step closer so their bodies were pressed even closer together, and her next breath hitched in her throat. "I did have a feeling that you appreciated this outfit." she murmured, as their lips came closer and closer together; her breath was hot on Santana's lips, and she could feel a shiver run down her spine.

"I've just wanted to get you _out_ of that outfit all day long..." the Latina trailed off, smugly unbuttoning the one button that held the jacket close, so she could ogle the swell of the diva's breasts even better, before she nuzzled her nose to Rachel's and brushed their lips together in a short, languid kiss.

The diva could hardly contain a quiet moan before she pulled back and rested their foreheads against each other. "Remember how I said that there was more to your present?" she whispered out, and Santana could only swallow loudly as she nodded, "This will be that time where you receive it," the brunette paused, "I'll just have to be a minute, and I'm sorry to tell you this, but you won't be taking this outfit off of me. I have... slightly different plans."

The cheerleader arched an eyebrow, "I won't?" she questioned. She couldn't say she was not disappointed. She'd been imagining this moment in her mind all day long.

Rachel shook her head. "I'll just be a minute, okay? You make yourself comfortable on the bed, and I'll just step into the bathroom real quick, okay?" she didn't wait for the other girl to answer, she simply ducked out of her embrace and grabbed her overnight bag from the floor. Before stepping into the bathroom though, she placed her iPod in the docking station on Santana's desk and winked teasingly at the birthday girl.

When the door fell shut behind her, Santana fell to the bed with a enormous sigh. What the actual fuck? She was slightly curious to find out what the other girl had planned for her... she had a feeling that this would be the grand part of the present that she'd missed before, but it just didn't seem fair that she wasn't going to peel that outfit off of her tight little body. There were so many things wrong with that fact, and the Latina pouted to herself as she got comfortable in the sheets.

She could hear Rachel fiddling around inside the bathroom; she was humming lightly and there was a slight rustle as she fidgeted around with things in there, which only caused Santana to get even more curious and impatient. It was her birthday, alright? She was allowed to be even fucking more impatient than usual.

"Tiny, you done soon!" she questioned then, kicking her feet into the air, before letting them fall to the mattress with a soft thud.

Rachel's voice was slightly apprehensive when she replied through the closed door, "Be right there."

Santana bit her lip and closed her eyes, willing herself to stay still for just a few more seconds. She had really liked today; everyone had been there for her, and she'd had fun. She really liked having a girlfriend on her birthday, it made it that much more awesome to have someone to share it with. All those other years, she'd just been Santana and she'd gotten drunk with Puck and Brittany and sometimes Quinn, and that had been it. At the end of the night she would have ended up in bed with Puck or possibly Brittany, and she couldn't help but admit that this was so much more fucking better.

Her head snapped to the side when she heard the door open. Her eyes widened when she saw Rachel step outside of the bathroom, her white fluffy bathrobe wrapped around her and tied neatly around her waist. It was way too big for her, but it made her look adorable. Santana though, couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed that she'd changed from her outfit into _that_.

She scrunched her nose up in confusion. "You serious? _That_'s my present?" she questioned, and she did not bother hiding her disappointment.

Rachel rolled her eyes at her, "No, silly. Your present is _underneath_ this." she whispered, letting her fingers play with the string as she bit her lip and gave Santana a suggestive smirk.

And it took the Latina all of two seconds to realise what she was wearing underneath. Holy fucking shit. She could not contain the giant grin that overtook her features as realisation dawned upon her. _Is she wearing hot as fuck sexy lingerie beneath that robe? _Santana was about ready to burst by just the idea of Rachel in something like that. She found herself sitting up straighter as her eyes darted from Rachel's feet and up her body, until they settled on her eyes again. "_Really_?"

The diva hummed and nodded her head. "I thought you deserved something special..." she trailed off and slowly pulled the string so that the robe was undone. However, she didn't let it fall open, but kept it closed with her hands. "Don't laugh, okay?" she questioned, before she slowly haunched her shoulders back and rolled out of the robe in one smooth motion.

Santana could immediately feel her throat go dry and her eyes turn black as they swept appreciatively over the girl's half-naked form. Holy fucking hell. She looked _amazing_. Instant pool in the Latina's pants. The lithe diva was dressed in red lace, which looked fucking stunning against her skin tone. She was wearing this incredible push-up bra, and even though Santana always loved her breasts, the way that it pushed them up made them seem at least one cup bigger. Her eyes swept down her body and settled on the see-through lace at her crotch – she was wearing a minimal thong, and it was the first time she'd ever seen Rachel in something like that; the diva always wore boy's shorts underwear, because she almost always wore skirts.

The most fucking hot thing though? That was the garter belt that sat snuggled around her waist. It was clasped to two thin red stockings with ruffles on top; they led a trail for the Latina's eyes to follow down her long sexy legs, where Rachel's feet ended in the pair of black heels she'd been wearing all day. Santana swallowed thickly.

"Is it..." Rachel trailed off, and Santana's eyes quickly snapped to meet hers, because she sounded so uncertain, "...not good?"

The Latina still wasn't sure what to say. If the other girl thought that she didn't look hot as hell, then she obviously hadn't seen herself. Because Santana just wanted to devour her so bad. She breathed out roughly. "You look amazing..." she licked her lips, "How, I mean-?" she paused, not knowing how to phrase herself properly, "Where did you get this?"

Taking a step closer, the smile on Rachel's face was still uncertain, but she looked more sure of herself. "I had no idea what to get you, because you don't really need anything. There's nothing you really wanted that you didn't have, and I wanted my present to outshine everyone else's." she paused and bent her head slightly, a tiny grin on her face, "So when I expressed my concern regarding your present, Noah told me to buy some sexy underwear... Since that's not really my forte, he joined me."

Santana felt her eyes go round and her heart speed up as a possessive streak hit her immediately, "He _saw_ you in this?" she whispered, still not really able to keep her eyes off of the lace that barely covered the other girl's crotch... she so wanted to get in there, and she so wanted it to be _now_.

Rachel shook her head, "He did not, though it's certainly not for lack of trying." she informed her, as she took a step closer, "He picked it out and I tried it on, and though I thought I looked ridiculous when I looked in the mirror, he told me to buy it because, and I say this almost exactly as he did, although with_ far_ less curse-words, the picture in his head was _not_." she paused and bit her lip as her eyes melted into the Latina's, "Is it ridiculous?" she finished in a whisper.

The cheerleader's breaths were coming in short as she replied, "It's really not."

"Because I could take it off again?" Rachel questioned and placed a hand on her hip, jutting it out slightly, and Santana was just about ready to burst if she didn't get some help with that soon. The constant throbbing between her thighs was just about to drive her insane.

The Latina swallowed again and nodded, "You do that." she rasped out, because her throat was dry and she could not move an inch.

Giggling, Rachel turned around and quickly pressed play on her iPod, and as she faced the Latina again, the distinctive sound of _Birthday Sex _by Jeremih filled the bedroom with its slow beat, and Rachel took a step closer, before crawling onto the bed with a sexy smirk. She grabbed the Latina by the back of her knees and pulled her closer, before leaning down to whisper in her ear, "Let's not get me out of this outfit _just_ yet... Instead I'm going to make you come so many times tonight, you won't be able to walk tomorrow. It's your birthday, Baby, so it's all about you."

Santana felt herself shudder, and as their lips met in a bruising kiss, she could feel Rachel's dainty hands travel across her body with eager, before pulling at her pants and underwear; trailing them off her legs in one smooth motion. The Latina was thankful that she wasn't going to take her time and get there, they could save that for another day, because right now – she just needed the other girl to fuck her so badly.

The diva slipped off the bed and gently pulled the other girl closer once more. She nibbled Santana's thighs with her teeth and lips, and Santana instinctively tried to press her thighs together to soothe the ache, but Rachel pressed them apart with her hands, which caused the Latina to whine aloud. The underwear, the song, the promise of multiple orgasms... it was all too much for her.

And thankfully Rachel was about to end her frustration, because she lovingly nuzzled her nose against the cheerleaders engorged clit for a few seconds, before she stuck her tongue out and continued to swipe it up and down her slit. It took Santana mere seconds to reach a point were there was no return, and Rachel knew her well enough by now to know that; the diva stuck her tongue inside of her, and with one well-placed thumb on her clit, Santana flew off the edge with a muffled cry, her hips bucking into the air and her back arching off the bed, even though the other girl tried to hold her down with a firm hand on her stomach.

She could hardly catch her breath again, and there was no time whatsoever to recover, because before she could ever say a word, Rachel was kissing her way up her body, pushing her t-shirt up as she went. She focused her attention on the cheerleader's navel for a few seconds, before she tucked firmly on her shirt and Santana lifted her upper body to help her get it off. They were face to face again then, and Santana pulled the smaller girl down for a kiss, tasting herself on her tongue as she stroked it with hers.

Her fingers travelled down Rachel's body and she brushed her hands above her naked butt cheeks and squeezed them in appreciation. "You're so fucking amazing, Tiny..." she hoarsely muttered, latching her mouth onto the swell of Rachel's right breast in an attempt to return the favour in some way.

Rachel brushed a piece of her drenched hair away from her face and stared down at Santana with complete love in her eyes, "Just you wait for it..." she whispered, and somehow, her hand sneaked its way down Santana's body again and circled around her entrance once more.

Santana felt herself clench tightly at just the idea. "I want us to come together, Tiny."

The diva shook her head and kissed her jaw. "No, Baby, it's your birthday, it's all about you."

"It's my birthday, and this is what I want." Santana whispered, forcing the other girl to look her in the eye as she stilled the movement of her hand with her fingers on her wrist. They'd done a lot of things since they started dating, but since Rachel was still so new to all of this, there were a lot of things they _hadn't_ tried either. And so far, they had never come together, not at the same time; it had always been the never-ending 'first we'll do me, and then we'll do you'. It had never been a problem for them, and their sex life had been great from the start, but this was something she really wanted to try as well... Because coming together was that much more amazing than coming alone.

Rachel brushed her hair back once more, "Oh... okay then." she whispered, and it didn't take Santana very long to brush the crotch of the lace thong aside and travel her fingers towards their favourite destination. Her girlfriend was already soaking wet, and her fingers slipped in there easily. The diva's breath stopped short for a second.

Santana readjusted herself on the bed and tucked gently at Rachel's legs so their position would be more comfortable. "Sit up straighter..." she whispered, pressing her lips to Rachel's neck.

The other girl followed instructions immediately, and Santana was sitting as the bottom one, her legs spread slightly with Rachel's right hand on her clit and the other arm around her shoulders, and the diva was perched on top of her thighs, her legs spread too, with the Latina's hand hovering at her entrance, and the other arm tucked around her back to pull her closer. Their breasts were pressed against each other and they stared at each other for a few seconds before exchanging a deep kiss.

"Happy birthday, Baby." Rachel whispered.

And Santana had to admit, it most definitely was.

She'd _never_ been happier.

* * *

_So sorry about the slight delay with this chapter, my week has been crazy. But good news is I found a flat, so now I'll be moving soon! Fuck yeah! I'll try to be better with the updates though, I really will. I want to thank you all for the amazing reviews I've been receiving. There were many different opinions about Amanda, which is always good, because it'll make it interesting when she makes her reappearance. I hope I was able to review reply all of you guys, but FF is being difficult and the 'review reply' link in the review alerts doesn't work, so I had to do it through PM, so those of you who have that enabled, just know that I appreciate the review and that I meant to get back to you, even if I wasn't able to. _

_Anyway! I hope you liked this chapter too; it was mostly fluff and sexy-times, but things should get interesting soon. Regionals is coming up and Amanda will come back. I'm not sure how many chapters there's left, because my fingers tend to have a mind of their own when I write, but just know that after Regionals it'll be the end of this story :) _

_Oh. And Carla's speech? I thought I'd add in a little about Santana's family, and especially how they've dealt with things, since I've hardly mentioned that except for the fact that her parents already 'knew' that she was gay. I thought that maybe it'd explain a few things, even though I'm not big on public speeches that way. It was necessary, and I hope you liked it. _

_So okay! How did you guys like **Funeral**? Can't say I care much for Finn's sudden interest in Rachel again – how stupid is he? Now that Jesse is back – he wants to sing with her again? Fuck that! I can't wait for the final episode though, I hope it's going to be epic, even though I fear for a Finchel reunion. I just so do not wanna have to watch them moon over each other in the third season. Like seriously. _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or RENT, or the song 'Birthday Sex' – it's by Jeremih. _


	27. Just Remember

**Chapter Twenty Seven**

**Just Remember... **

Santana was in pain. It was the good kind of pain though. Not the awful one. It was the I-just-had-sex-all-night kind of pain, which really, she preferred above any other kind of pain. Even though it hurt as fuck when she tried to walk down the hall with her usual Latina fierceness.

Cheerios practice had been abysmal and Sue had not been shy to tell her that. Quinn and Brittany had shot her knowing smirks all throughout it, and the HBIC made _sure_ to give Santana a few extra laps around the field. Just, y'know, because she could.

The Latina didn't complain though. She'd had a brilliant night, and Rachel had been relentless, giving her orgasm after orgasm. If Santana had been worried, before jumping into bed with her yesterday, that Amanda was going to be a problem between them because there were some unresolved feelings left, she wasn't worried anymore. After the performance Rachel gave her last night, the cheerleader was fucking certain that Rachel was hers and only hers. The singer wasn't going to stray, because everything she did last night proved to the Latina that she loved her. Like really fucking loved her.

Amanda Adams? _Absolutely forgotten_!

Puck chuckled as she passed him and Lauren in the hallway (they were arguing about their date tonight; McDonald's or Breadstix?), "Yo Lopez, I think you're walking funny."

She arched an eyebrow at him, "What's it to ya', Puckerman? I'm walking fucking fine!"

This caused the Jewish boy to smirk even further, "Did Rachel wear you out last night? Damn, that girl is proving to be a true Jew!" he finished, getting a satisfied smile on his face for a second, as he – without a doubt – imagined it inside his head.

Santana frowned at him and hissed, "Don't think about that, Puckerman! And I swear to all that his fucking holy, that if you ever try to sneak a peak at my girlfriend in her underwear again, I'ma cut you so bad!" she took a step closer to scare him off, even though the pain between her thighs was insufferable, "I have razorblades in my weave, so I'd watch it if I were you."

His gaze moved to her hair for a brief second, before Lauren caught his attention again, when she demanded to know what this was about Berry and her underwear, and Santana smirked at him and turned around, pleased that he was in trouble. Now that that was done for today, she just needed to find Rachel and get her mack on before class. Or you know... find Rachel pressed up against a locker with Azimio's giant body hovering right above her. (She would have preferred the first one).

This time really not caring about the aching in her body, the cheerleader strode down the hallway and roughly pushed the boy aside; she caught them both by surprise; they'd been arguing, she could tell, and they'd gathered quite a crowd around them, but no one from Glee had been there to save their team captain. She managed to shove him off of her dwarf though, and Rachel's face turned into one of big relief when she realised who was there.

"Did I not fucking tell you to leave her alone?" Santana snapped at him, stepping over to protect Rachel slightly from the other boy by using herself as a human-shield.

Azimio rolled his eyes, "Well it's hard ignoring her when she walks down the hallway, infesting us all with her gayness!"

The Latina hammered a hand into the locker next to her and narrowed her eyes in on him. "She may be gay, Azimio, but she's not a fucking bully, not like you, and that's worse. You fucking leave us alone, got it? I don't ever wanna see you near her. She's so tiny compared to your fat stomach, it's just not an even fight. You got me? I got razorblades in my hair!" she hissed, now finding that statement useful for the second time that day.

Rolling his eyes, Azimio shot them both a dirty look before he turned on his heel and walked down the hallway. Santana resisted the urge to run after him, and yell profanities, instead she turned around to look at her girlfriend, because really, that was a whole lot more satisfying, even if it'd be nice to kick Azimio's ass. She shot Rachel a bashful smile. "Hi."

The diva's eyes settled on the top of her head, "You really have razorblades in there?"

"Fuck yeah!" she replied, before she bent down and gently trapped the other girl against the locker with a short kiss. "So you were sleeping when I left," she smirked; she hadn't had the heart to wake the other girl for her morning routine, because she'd really been exercising a lot last night; instead she'd just let her hug the pillow and left to go to school by herself, "therefore I didn't say good morning."

"'Morning." Rachel whispered and a shy smile graced her face as she placed a hand on the back of Santana's neck, tiptoeing up to whisper in her ear, "I'm kinda sore all over." she breathed, and the air ghosted across Santana's skin, which really, sent a fucking shiver down her spine.

Oh the things that Rachel could do to her...

She grinned, "I can't fucking walk like a normal person, Tiny."

Rachel giggled. "Well, I was just trying to give you an amazing birthday."

The Latina replied, "You did."

And then they both grinned goofily at each other for a little while, because that was the sort of thing that sometimes happened when Santana wasn't careful and she let herself get sucked into Rachel completely. Their little bubble was broken quickly though, when Mercedes and Tina approached them; Mercedes looking all too happy to break up their moment, and Tina shooting them an apologetic smile.

"My favourite lesbians, you're just the gals I was looking for!" Mercedes said, placing a hand around Rachel's shoulder. "Come early to Glee today, okay? We still haven't settled all the song selections for Regionals, and Mr. Schue is going to hold _another_ night at his place with pizza and votes. We all know I'm singing the solo, but we were talking about it, Tina and I, and it's probably not a good idea to wait until next week to select the rest of the songs."

Rachel gasped. "He's not going to select them until next week? I am appalled!"

Tina shrugged her shoulders, "You know Mr. Schue, he chooses everything at the last second. We just thought that if... that if we knew what we were doing, we could just focus more on that, even if we didn't tell him."

Santana squinted her eyes and thought it over to see if she'd gotten it right, "So you want us to meet before Glee today so _we_ can agree on songs, and then next week when we have to _vote_..." she trailed off, "We're all just going to vote the same thing, because we _already agreed_?"

Tina nodded eagerly as Rachel lit up like a Christmas tree, "That is _brilliant_! That way Mr. Schue won't feel out of the loop and if we've already selected the songs, the singers will know what they have to practice at home." she wrapped her arms around Mercedes in a giant hug, before pulling back, "Girls, I would have thought of that myself, but since I've been so busy lately, I am thrilled to realise that someone else has started to take this a seriously as I do!"

Mercedes chuckled, "We might have hated you for it before, Rachel, but..." she shook her head, "Now we realise that it's just because you want us to do our best."

"And we wanna do our best, too." Tina added, before she pulled Rachel in for a short, shy hug as well. She turned to Santana then, but instead of a hug, she opted for a stiff smile.

The Latina chuckled on the inside. _That's right... those bitches still fear me, hell yeah! _"Alright – Asian Sensation, Aretha... now that that's settled you can continue on down the hallway and leave me and my girl to it. We were getting our mack on before class."

Mercedes rolled her eyes, "We care about you too, Santana." she mumbled, before she and Tina turned on their heels and went back the way they came a couple of minutes before.

Rachel practically jumped into Santana's arms with a squeal and placed a sloppy kiss on her cheek. "Baby! I am positively _ecstatic_ right now! Can't you see? Everyone's starting to feel just as passionate about Glee Club as I am! Things could _not_ be better right now!" she fell onto the floor again and brushed a piece of her hair back, "Oh! I have to go to the music room! I need to find my sheet music, I need to find a duet for me and Finn!"

As she turned around to open her locker, Santana couldn't help but watch her whirlwind of a girlfriend with a happy smile on her lips; once you learned to love Rachel's eagerness and her bubbly personality, you simply couldn't stop enjoying it... she was just too fucking perfect.

Chuckling to herself, Santana pressed a kiss to Rachel's cheek, before she turned around and wobbled down the hallway to her locker. It was going to take a while to get to class.

The sex might've been amazing, but the bruises most certainly _weren't_.

**x**

They might all have settled their differences within that damn club, but that still didn't meant they could just agree on everything easily. In fact, they still argued over everything – particularly song selections. And without Mr. Schuester there as a shield? Some things were said. However, they were said in a much quieter, more polite and _mature_ way, than they'd been before.

Of course Rachel was running the show, so Santana was just huddled in the back row (she cared shit about which songs they sang, unless of course, she had to watch Finn make dopey eyes at her girlfriend for _too_ long). Brittany was right next to her, doodling in her notebook with fierce determination, and Santana's attention was divided between whatever she was doing in the right corner of the paper and the way that Rachel's tongue somehow peeked out insistently as she discussed songs with the team-mates who gave a fuck.

Which, really, weren't that many of them. They'd managed to agree on a few things though. Rachel and Finn's duet was going to be _10.000 Nights of Thunder _by Alphabeat, which pleased Santana, because even though it was a love song, it was an upbeat one and not their usual heartbreaking ones. It was going to be full of dancing and the rest of them would be there right behind them to do back-up. But that was about all they'd agreed on. The group-number was still in question, and Mercedes was still trying to choose between two songs for her solo, so Rachel just told her to work her ass off, rehearsing both of them.

Santana was tuning them out by then, though. She didn't really care so much about Mercedes' solo; she was certain that no matter what, they could count on her to bring the house down. Instead, she turned her eyes back to Brittany's notebook, and couldn't help but pause when she realised what the other girl was drawing.

"Britts?" she whispered, "What are you doing?"

The blonde girl didn't look up from what she was focusing on; in the right corner of her book, she'd drawn two small matchstick men, one with impossibly long hair and a microphone in hand, at the other with her hair in a ponytail and a pompom in one hand. She was focusing on it for a few seconds, before she turned to the next page and started drawing the same thing again.

_Is that...? _"B? What are you doing?"

Brittany finally looked up from her notebook and shot Santana a giant smile. "I'm drawing you and Rach, see?" she said and pointed at the tiny drawing in her notebook. "She has a microphone because she sings a lot, and you have a pompom because you cheer a lot."

Santana couldn't hide her smile. "Why are you drawing us on all the pages?"

She laughed, "I'm not drawing the same thing, silly! I'm making small changes..." she held up the book, close to Santana's face, "So when I flip the pages..." she trailed off, and moved her finger slightly, which caused the pages to flutter down quickly, "...you guys kiss!"

The Latina raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but love how the little matchstick men (or rather women...) moved closer and closer until their round faces with two dots and a line were pressed together, and then moved apart again. It was all very cute, and very, very Brittany.

"Do you like it?" Brittany asked then, sounding very hopeful.

Santana nodded, "I love it, B. Thank you."

Brittany squealed a little and bent her head again – to continue her drawing. Santana's focus returned to the centre of the room, and she discovered to her surprise that Mr. Schuester had actually arrived. He was saying something about Regionals and the rest of them were pretending that they hadn't just had a secret meeting without him, and then he started making suggestions about the night at his place next week to finalize the set-list. Mercedes and Tina shared knowing glances, and Rachel's head perked up a little bit.

And after that he trailed into a huge speech about team-work and Glee-togetherness, and how he was so pleased to see that they were doing much better lately, and Santana closed her eyes and tried to sleep a little bit, because she was fucking tired. She could hear him yammer on though, but over all it was a great practice, because he didn't tell her to get off her lazy butt to sing or dance. She considered that a successful practice then, and once it was over, she ambushed her girlfriend by the piano.

"Hey Tiny?" she asked, sneaking up behind her, as Rachel was sorting through her Glee binder while the others filed out of the room with mindless chatter.

Rachel stuck a piece of sheet music into her binder and turned a few pages, before picking out a new piece, "Hmm?" she absently murmured, her attention entirely on the task at hand.

The Latina would have felt annoyed at that, but she knew how much Regionals meant to Rachel, so she'd let it slide for now. "You wanna hang out after ballet?" she questioned.

Smacking her binder close, Rachel turned around on the spot and shot the cheerleader a bright smile. "Unfortunately I am a bit preoccupied with homework and Glee tonight." she grabbed the binder and tucked it beneath her arm as the two girls went for the door, "I have to practice my part of the duet, and I'm behind on my French assignment because I spent all weekend with you." she looked up at Santana with a shy smile, "I'm sorry. Is that okay?"

"It's okay." Santana laughed, as the two girls came to a stop in front of Rachel's locker, "I love hanging out with you, Tiny, but we don't have to do it all the time. Maybe it'll be good for us, and I certainly wouldn't want you to fall behind for my sake." she shrugged her shoulders and tried to hide the fact that she really just wanted to snuggle up with her girlfriend for the night (she was not pathetic, okay? She was just really, really sore from all that awesome sex!). "Maybe I'll... maybe I'll hang out with Quinn and Britt for tonight!"

Rachel brushed a piece of her hair away and turned to get what she needed in her locker. "That sounds like a good idea, you shouldn't neglect your friendships, Santana."

Santana bent over and placed a warm hand on her shoulder. Leaning forward so her lips were against her ear, she breathed out, "I'll call you tonight?"

A faint blush rose up Rachel's cheeks as she turned her head and their faces were inches apart. "No. I'll call you." she murmured.

"Cool." Santana whispered, before she pressed their lips together in a brief kiss. She then smiled warmly at her girl before she turned around and went towards the parking lot, hoping to catch the two blondes before they left the school parking lot. She was a bit disappointed that Rachel didn't have time for her tonight, but it was understandable; the girl still had to focus on her dreams, and what she needed to do to get there. It was one of the things she'd completely forgotten when she was dating Finn, and Santana refused to let it happen when she was dating _her._ She was going to be an awesome and fucking hot girlfriend, and just support her every step of the way instead.

She caught Quinn and Brittany chatting by the taller blonde's car and quickly jogged across the parking lot to catch up with them. "Blondies!" she addressed them, and both girls turned to her with a surprised look. She stopped in front of them and nudged Quinn's shoulder with hers, "What are you fine ladies up to this afternoon?"

Quinn shrugged her shoulder, "We were just going to... hang out?"

Brittany nodded excitedly.

Santana huffed. "Well, why don't we got to the mall together? It's been a while since we've really hung out."

Brittany clapped her hands together in excitement, "Yay! We can get manis and pedis like we used to! This will be so much _fun_."

The Latina turned her head to the side and glanced at the other blonde, asking her – with a well-placed cocked eyebrow – if she was up for that. The little smile on Quinn's face told her that she most definitely was.

So that was how, thirty minutes later, Santana found herself squeezed in between Quinn and Brittany at their favourite place. Three women were already working on their feet and Quinn was leaning back in her seat with her eyes closed and a contend expression across her face. Brittany was chatting away about this and that (mostly her cats) and Santana found herself realising that she'd really _missed_ this. It wasn't like she regretted hanging out with Rachel all the time, because she loved that girl, and she missed her when they weren't together (like right now for instance), but it was also a good thing to get some time apart, right? To not hang around each other all damn day... Rachel must really have neglected her friendships with Puck, Kurt and Blaine as well.

"This feels really nice..." Quinn sighed at one of the rare times that Brittany was quiet. She was trying to choose which colour should go on her nails, but she was having a very hard time doing so, and the Latina thought that perhaps she'd come home with a different colour on each toe (that happened a lot).

Santana smiled, "Fuck yeah it does! We should totally make this an all-nighter. Let's buy lots of junk food and watch horror movies all night!"

Quinn squeezed an eye open and offered her a sideways grin, "That actually sounds very fantastic, S."

"What can I say, I'm awesome?"

"I need to make an appointment with the waxing lady." Brittany said then, as she'd finally settled on something for her feet and was leaning back in her seat again, "I need to fix my lady problems, because it's just not pretty in my spanks."

Quinn chuckled, "Sounds good, B."

Santana should probably make an appointment, too, it'd been a while since she was there and there was usually a couple of weeks wait, even for Cheerios. "You only get the bikini waxes, right?" she asked her two friends then. She'd never really thought about getting anything else, because that was all they needed for their uniforms.

"Hmm." Quinn murmured.

Brittany smiled at her, "Why? Why, S? Can I get something else?"

Santana shrugged her shoulders, "It's just 'cuz Rachel-"

Quinn cut her off, "Oh, I _knew_ this was going to be about Rachel!" she laughed at Santana as the Latina shot her a glare, "I get it, S, you're sickenly in love, and I actually find it quite adorable. You might want to watch the over-share sometimes, though? I feel like I know all your positions and what Berry likes and _doesn't_ like in the bedroom."

Santana huffed, "Fine, I won't tell ya'!"

Brittany pouted, "I wanna know, S! I don't mind hearing about your positions, I think you and Rach are really hot together, that's why I drew you guys kissing." she nodded her head then, "Yeah, 'cuz... a lot of people think you're hot together, Puck does too, and Finn, I think all the guys really. And so do I! And you're really a cute couple, and I'm so happy that you're so happy, because Rachel makes you smile a lot, so just tell me what it was about her and the waxing!"

The Latina stuck her tongue out at the HBIC and turned slightly over in the chair, thus effectively cutting Quinn off from their conversation (she ignored the mumbled 'mature, so _very_ mature' from behind her). "B, it's just 'cuz Rachel gets a _full_ wax, like she's _completely_ bare down there. I think it's really hot."

Before Brittany could reply, Quinn gasped, "She gets a _Brazilian wax_?"

Santana nodded.

The HBIC shuddered, "I've always wanted to try that, but I'm so afraid it'll hurt too much, so I always back out..." she trailed off, "Why does she do that? I mean, with those skirts, a bikini wax should be sufficient enough!"

The Latina laughed, "She does ballet, remember? Those tight bodices and leotards? So not fancy with hair on the side."

Brittany nodded her head, "It's true, I know that. I heard it at the dance studio, all the ballerinas do it." she paused, "I wanna try! Next time, I'm going to get a Mexican wax!"

"Brazilian." Quinn corrected her on reflex.

And Santana just relaxed back into her seat in thought... maybe she should try one of those, too, just to – just to see what Rachel would say.

**x**

They were huddled together on the couch in Quinn's living room, staring at the flat screen TV, while they clung onto each other, and had the pizza boxes wobbling in their laps. Quinn was devouring every second of it; she loved horror movies more than the other two, she'd always had a thing for them, and while Santana and Brittany loved watching them too (they always watched horror when it was just the three of them, it was like... their thing), they didn't love them as much as Quinn. Brittany was hiding her face in her hands more than she was eating, and Santana was trying not to get too scared while she told herself over and over that it was just a film.

"Take that, you sucker!" Quinn hollered at the TV suddenly, and Brittany sneaked a peek from behind her fingers, but quickly closed them again when she realised that zombies were getting slaughtered and there was a lot of blood.

"S, can I have some pizza?" she whispered, and Santana grabbed a piece for her and made sure that it was safely tucked inside her hand, before she focused her attention back towards the screen.

She flinched when someone got stabbed, "What the fuck! I'm eating, Q, that's just gross. Why the fuck are we watching this!" she hissed, before she threw her half-eaten piece of pizza into box. She wasn't so hungry anymore. Instead she reached for her phone to see if Rachel had texted her.

It wasn't that she was desperate to hear from her girlfriend, it was just the it was eight o'clock now and Rachel should have been home from ballet a long time ago. There was no message from Rachel though, only a few from Puck, and the Latina tried to hide her disappointment. Glancing back at the screen, she tried to pick. Messages from Puck – or zombies and guts? She picked the messages from Puck.

Opening one of the new messages with a flick of her finger, she frowned when she saw what it said.

_wtf lopez? this is startin 2 weird me out. _

So. That was confusing. She opened the first one – just to see what he'd wanted back at... 6:18pm, when he'd first texted her.

_lopez... even though rach is my fellow hot jew, i feel like i should tell u this. me and my lady are at stix, but so's rach... with a hot as fuck girl! what's goin on? _

Santana felt something immediately drop to the pit of her stomach as she stared at the text message from Puck. What did he mean that-? But Rachel said she had homework, and Glee and – and stuff! She wouldn't go out to Breadstix without telling her; there was no reason for her to hide that she was going out to dinner with someone else. Unless of course...

The Latina suddenly felt like it was _very_ hard to breathe. Like... her breath sort of got stuck in her throat and her heart felt as if it was going to burst right out of her chest. A very weird and uncomfortable feeling overtook her entire body and she swallowed hard, willing herself not to panic, even though it was fucking difficult. She... she wouldn't – not with _her_? Right? _She would have told me, wouldn't she_? Santana asked herself, as she read the text over once more.

But it didn't help. She just – she just _knew_ that Rachel was at Breadstix with her! She could just... feel it.

"Fucking slut!" she exclaimed then, and angrily threw her cell phone into the couch.

Quinn and Brittany both turned to look at her then, and it only took Quinn about two seconds to shut the TV off when she realised that something was way off. Both the blonde girls sat up straighter and withdrew their arms when Santana stomped pass them to angrily pace the floor.

Quinn's eyes were full of concern when she asked, "S? What's wrong?"

Santana turned to them, hands on hips and a glare in her eyes. She wanted to scream, she wanted to yell, she wanted to fucking rip someone's head off... and she wanted to cry. Because the feeling inside her? It was not a pleasant one. And she had no idea how to handle this. "Rachel's _not_ fucking doing her homework! I just got a text from _Puck_, and she's at fucking _Breadstix_ with Amanda Adams!"

Brittany's eyes turned completely wide, and Quinn huffed. "Seriously?"

"Fuck yes!" Santana replied and pointed to her iPhone, "Take a look at that text!" she continued, and while her two friends grabbed her phone to read what it was Puck had texted her, Santana turned around and paced all the way to the other end of the room, before she turned around and came right back.

Fucking shit and crap and damn and a lot of other frigging profanities. Why was Rachel doing this to her? Why was she telling her that she was going to have a boring night at home and then went out to have dinner with an old girlfriend? Shit was just not fucking fair! Things like that weren't supposed to happen to them – they were the perfect couple in their own weird way; they told each other everything, and there were no lies and no secrets, and yet there Santana was – feeling fucking horrible because her girlfriend had neglected to tell her the truth! It was so not like Rachel, except – except it totally was, because when she got an idea – no matter which fucking idea it was – she went for it full-force, not caring if she stepped on someone's toes along the way.

The Latina had just never believed she'd actually step on _her_ toes.

Quinn cleared her throat, "It doesn't actually say here that it's Amanda, you know. It could be some distant family member."

"It could be." Santana replied, turning to look at her friends, who seemed momentarily relieved, "Except Rachel has no fucking family members left, and I just _know_ it's Amanda."

Brittany shook her head, "S, you don't know that."

"I fucking do." Santana replied, before she angrily kicked her foot into the side of the couch and proceeded to curse loudly when it hurt like hell. _Motherfucking crap_!

Quinn stood up then and carefully approached Santana, wrapping a friendly arm around her, "Calm down for a second, S... let's talk about this right now. Why would Rachel go out with Amanda – maybe Puck just thought it was her."

Santana stared at Quinn. "Are you seriously for realz right now?" _Maybe Puck thought it was her? As if! Those guys are best friends, he'd know Rachel's amazing ass from a mile away... _"Puck saw 'em, Q! And as for Rachel and Amanda? Who fuck knows what goes on inside that wacky head of hers!"

"Be nice, S." Brittany firmly informed her, as Quinn guided her to the couch, and she was placed between her two best friends, who were rubbing her arm and back in concern. "Maybe Amanda just wanted to catch up with Rachel after they saw each other again. That's okay, right?"

_No it's not. _"I guess..."

Quinn smiled warmly at her. "And it's not like you told Rachel that she couldn't see her right?"

"I should have." Santana growled, as she clutched her knee tightly and tried not to think of Rachel and that- that _slut_ alone at Breadstix. Just the entire idea of Rachel spending an evening with her, it hurt Santana's heart so bad. She didn't want the images of the two of them together inside her head, but they were fucking hard to erase once they'd entered. Shit was not fucking cool!

Brittany shook her head. "No S, 'cuz Rach is allowed to have friends, right? And it's just dinner, maybe Amanda does hope that she can get Rachel back, but you shouldn't worry, because Rachel only wants you. Okay? Don't be worried." she mumbled, before pressing a kiss to Santana's cheek and bouncing out of the room.

Santana turned to Quinn then and gave her a strained smile. "Q..." she whispered, and she could feel this weird cold envelop her from all sides as she stared into those familiar eyes; eyes that'd always be honest with her when shit really mattered. "Should I be worried?" she whispered.

Quinn swallowed loudly and gently reached out to grasp Santana's hand, "I think so, yeah." she nodded.

The Latina heaved out a deep breath and fell into the couch, letting the softness take her in completely. She tried to control the angry tears so they wouldn't fall, she tried to tell herself to breathe properly, but it was so fucking hard when she knew that that girl was making passes at her girlfriend, wanting to take her, to kiss her, to love her... and touch her in ways that Santana was the only person allowed to touch her.

"She's gonna take her from me, Q, I just know it..." she whispered, turning her head to the side to stare at the blonde girl, "She's going to try to win her over, and it's going to be so easy because they have shit in common, and Rach and I, we argue over the silliest things because we're so different!" she swallowed loudly, "I had that feeling when I saw her, y'know?"

The HBIC nodded in understanding and gently brushed a piece of Santana's hair out of her eyes, "You should have just told Rachel that you'd feel better if she didn't talk to her again."

Santana squeezed her eyes shut. "Rachel would maim me if I ever suggested such a thing. She doesn't do possessive very well, and if she wants to do something, she does it no matter what I say. I love that about her..." she trailed off and opened her eyes again, to stare blankly at the ceiling, "I just can't stand the thought of them being alone, because I saw the way she looked at her."

"The way Amanda looked at Rachel?" Quinn whispered.

Turning her head to the side, Santana locked their eyes together, "And the way that Rachel looked right back."

Quinn's hazel eyes widened.

"To Rachel..." Santana trailed off and stared into her lap where her fingers were busy playing with a loose hem on her Cheerios skirt, "To Rachel Amanda is the one who got away. They have unfinished business to take care of because it all ended so quickly. And I'm afraid Amanda's gonna use that to her advantage."

They could hear Brittany humming loudly as she made her way back to the living room, and Quinn gave Santana's hand another squeeze, "Sleep on it, S, and... talk to Rachel tomorrow, okay? Tell her how you feel. She loves you, and if it makes you that uncomfortable, I'm sure she'll understand, just... talk to her tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay." Santana replied.

She had a feeling though, that she wouldn't get much sleep tonight. And it definitely didn't help that Rachel forgot to call her, and only sent a text a little pass ten o'clock that did nothing to ease her fears.

_I'm sorry I didn't call you, Baby. I was busy with my French assignment. Sleep tight xoxo_

What the fuck do you respond with when you _know_ your girlfriend just texted you a blatant lie?

* * *

_Thank you so much for tuning in to yet another chapter ;) I hope you liked it! A lot of you guys are worried about Amanda and what she might bring to the story, but all I can say is that's it's going to be a fun ride :) I want to thank you all so much for the awesome reviews that I received for the last chapter – they always make me smile so bad, and I love hearing your suggestions! _

_Oh. And Alphabeat? Is an amazing Danish band with very catchy tunes. I actually heard that Ryan Murphy really wanted to do them on Glee, but that they said no for some (very fucked up) reason. I don't really get that, but yeah! I decided to incorporate them in this story just a bit, because I've always enjoyed their music. _

_Sooo... **New York? **I'm gonna rant for a second now, so if you haven't seen the episode, you might wanna skip this! First off. How hot is Dianna with her new hair? I think I drooled a little bit on my laptop when I saw it. Second off? I loved the scene between Quinn, Santana and Brittany in the hotel room – it was so nice to catch a glimpse of what their friendship might have been like before pregnancies and other crazy stuff! I loved Rachel and Kurt and 'For Good' because that was just beautiful. Anything else though? I pretty much hated. At first I was very happy because it seemed like Rachel was NOT going to give into Finn and then in the end she does and I'm like 'wtf?' - that was so not fair! And no Brittana either? I feel disappointed... Now I'm just relieved that I have fanfiction to tie me over until the next season! _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or RENT. _


	28. that I'm Your Baby

**Chapter Twenty Eight **

**...that I'm Your Baby **

Quinn and Brittany took her to The Lima Bean the next morning for a giant cup of coffee, because she'd slept horribly, and she just looked like _shit_. The coffee helped a little. Sort of. But she was still fucking tense and scared about what it was that she had to do. She felt insulted, of course, that Rachel would even lie to her, because she'd never thought they were _that_ couple, the couple who kept secrets from each other and lied. And she was scared about having to actually confront Rachel with the fact that she knew about her 'date' with Amanda – she really didn't want to fight, but she also didn't want to let Rachel get away with it.

Whatever the fuck 'it' was.

Quinn seemed sort of tense too, but Brittany was her usual chipper self, as they drove into the parking lot at McKinley High. Santana's trained eyes quickly searched the area for her girlfriend's Prius and she was pleased to see that it was already parked there (Rachel was probably rehearsing her duet in the choir room this _dandy_ morning). Though she felt as if she wasn't ready to have this conversation yet, she was still happy that they'd be able to discuss it before people started coming to school; it'd be horrible if anyone overheard them. Santana could _not_ live with that.

"Choir room?" she questioned her two best friends as they made their way towards the front entrance of the school.

Quinn placed a warm arm around her shoulders and squeezed her tightly. "We'll be right outside the room for moral support, okay S?"

Santana had never been more grateful for her two best friends. They were awesome. Like fucking seriously.

As they came closer and closer to the choir room, Santana could make out Rachel's stunning voice and Finn's mediocre singing, and she felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach. She had to deal with Finnocence too? She'd have to throw him out of there, and that quite possibly wouldn't be enough, because even though he was totally cool with her and Rachel now, she knew he was still not over her midget, which might make him slightly irrational at times.

She bit her lip and accepted the supportive looks from Quinn and Brittany before she pushed the door to the choir room open and entered the lion's cave. Brad immediately stopped playing the piano when he saw her, and Rachel and Finn turned to find out who had interrupted them. The look on Brad's face was indifferent, the look on Finn's face annoyed, and the look on Rachel's face one of pure joy.

"Baby!" she cheered, skipping across the room to peck Santana's cheek lightly (to the Latina it felt as if those luscious familiar lips burned her skin), "We were just practising our duet. We need all the practice that we can get!"

Santana tried to force a smile on her face, but it was so hard, because when she looked at Rachel, all she could see was the giant lie she'd told her. And it didn't feel good, it did not feel good at all. She tried to remember if she'd ever felt this bad about being lied to, and she had to say that she hadn't. She'd never thought Rachel could make her feel this way with just a few words, but she was absolutely breaking on the inside.

_Please have a reasonable explanation for this, Tiny, please just do. _

Finn nodded, "We're gonna sound totally awesome, Santana, we're gonna win this year!"

Brad murmured something incoherent to himself, whether or not he agreed was a toss up.

Rachel took a step back, and something in her eyes told the Latina that she could feel that something was up. She cleared her throat and nervously fidgeted with the sleeve of her sweater. "Why are you here so early, Baby? You don't have Cheerios today, right?"

Santana drew in a shaky breath and stuck her hands into the pockets of her Cheerios jacket. "I really need to talk to you before class, Rach."

The singer's eyes turned completely wide and she gave a short nod.

Turning to gape at the two dudes in the room, Santana gave them an expecting look, wordlessly telling them both to get the fuck out of there. But none of them understood it, apparently. Finn was just clueless and Brad just didn't care. "Well?" she questioned them with a snap, "This is a private conversation you two! Now, scram!"

Finn quickly gathered his things, sensing that it might be really serious, and Brad shuffled after him on his old feet, pulling the door close behind him. Santana stared at it for a second, knowing that Quinn and Brittany were right out there for her if she really needed them, before she turned back around, only to find Rachel neatly stacking the sheet music to _10.000 Nights of Thunder _on top of the piano.

"Tiny?" she whispered out, and Rachel turned around with a little smile.

"Yes?"

Santana stepped across the floor, and though she was reluctant to touch the other girl, she also wanted to do nothing but that, so she tugged her closer by the hand hand and pulled her down on the piano bench with her, so they were sitting once again, much like the time when they first said 'I love you' not so long ago. It felt like it'd been months, maybe even years because so many things had happened. And Santana just wanted it to continue on like it had since then, because she'd thought that they were perfect. Apparently _not_.

She looked up then and locked her eyes with Rachel, and apparently she was a lot more transparent to the other girl than she'd ever assumed because Rachel gasped lowly and placed a concerned hand on her cheek. "Baby..." she whispered, a finger absent-mindedly stroking across her jaw, "Santana, you're scaring me, what's wrong?"

"What did you really do last night, Rach?" she rasped out then, licking her dry lips, while trying to control the clutter of her heart against her ribcage.

The brunette's eyes swum with questions for a second before she dropped her hand to her lap and wrinkled her forehead. "I – I was doing my French assignment. Like I told you."

Suddenly anger surged through her body like never before, because fuck it, Rachel was lying her straight to her face right now, even when the situation was this serious, and why was she _doing_ that? There was no point to all her silly lies, and Santana saw red – she just wanted the _truth_; she wanted to know why she was being lied to by the person she trusted the most in the world, and she wanted to know why Rachel had been out with Amanda Adams of all people because it fucking hurt inside and made her breath come out all short and raspy, and she did _not_ like the feeling.

"Don't lie to me, Rachel!" she snapped, her eyes flaming up as she stared the other girl down, "Just don't, okay? I fucking know you weren't home last night, so just stop feeding me lies! I _never_ thought you'd lie to me."

Rachel's eyes flickered nervously from side to side for a second as the diva refused to meet her gaze. Santana just wanted to know so badly what was going on inside that head of hers; she wanted it, no she _needed_ it. She couldn't not know for a second longer, because if there was a reasonable explanation for all of this, maybe it would be okay, and maybe she wouldn't feel like her insides were being smashed with a hammer.

The singer drew out a shaky breath, "I weren't home last night." she whispered.

Santana tried to bite back a sob, because she'd been refusing to believe it, but now she just knew that it was true anyway, and fuck that! Rachel had _lied_ to her. Like legit told her something that wasn't true, and though Santana had never shied away from lying in the past herself, she'd never thought she'd feel this way because of her girlfriend. The Latina rasped out, "You were at Breadstix, right?"

Nodding, Rachel locked their eyes together, "I was with Amanda."

"Why did you lie to me?" Santana hissed out then, "Why didn't you just tell me you were with her? And more importantly – why the _fuck_ were you with her, Rach? Why!"

Rachel brushed a piece of her hair back and tried to grasp Santana's hand, but the cheerleader quickly pulled it away from her (she did not fail to notice the hurt look that swept through those chocolate pools though), "Amanda needed someone to talk to." she whispered, staring into nothing as her lips moved and she talked, "She really needed to get all these feelings out. She can't talk to anyone at Carmel and her parents would kill her if... if she did. She's so confused Santana, because she's just stuck inside that closet, and she just wanted my advice, she just needed me to listen."

Santana could sort of understand what the other girl was going through, but that still did not make it fucking okay. It just didn't.

The diva looked at her then, "I'm sorry I _lied_, Santana." she firmly said, shaking her head slightly, "But I just knew that you wouldn't understand why I'd spend an evening with her, why I needed to be there for her. So I thought it was easier to tell you I was busy and you'd be none the wiser."

Santana stubbornly crossed her arms across her chest and glanced down at Rachel through her long lashes. "You spend an entire evening with your ex-girlfriend – who still wants you, and don't you deny it, because she does! - and you didn't tell me! How do you think that makes me feel? Huh, Rachel? What wasn't I supposed to think when I got that text about you and her at Breadstix?" she bit her lip and tried not to let the tears of frustration fall, but it was so difficult, "You don't even know that girl anymore, Rachel, and you just went with her. Like it didn't fucking matter, but it does."

"Why though?" Rachel whispered, gently prying Santana's arms out of their cross so she could take a hand in each of hers and cling to her tightly, "Why does it matter, Santana? I was helping out a friend. I shouldn't have lied and I deeply apologise, but you can't make me say that I regret spending the evening with her. She needed to vent, she really did."

The Latina could see that her girlfriend meant every word she was saying; she could see that she was sorry that she'd lied, but that she'd done what she'd done in the most genuine way possible. It just sucked that it had caused Santana to hurt so badly, and it was not just going to fade away right now; it was still pulsating right beneath her skin.

"I just wish you would have told me," Santana whispered then, licking her lips quickly, "I gave you no reason to not be honest with me. I never said that I didn't want you to spend time with her – or, or to see her again."

Rachel breathed out heavily, "You didn't have to." she murmured then, and Santana swallowed loudly, "You keep forgetting, Santana, that I _know_ you. I know your looks, I know what you're thinking a lot of the time, and when we ran into Amanda and you realised who she was, I knew immediately that you were not okay with me and her spending time together." she jutted out her jaw, "So that's why I didn't say anything, because I knew it'd only make you sad."

The Latina did not know what to say to that, so she just said nothing.

"And..." Rachel trailed off, the thumb of her right finger drawing a lazy circle in Santana's left hand's palm. "I needed... I needed to talk to her, too. About... about some things."

Tilting her head to the side, Santana gaped at her. "You what?"

Rachel shrugged her shoulders, "There's just some things that I feel that I can't discuss with you." she honestly whispered as a reply, "Some things that I'm not sure you'd really understand about me, because... because as great as you are, you just don't get it."

Santana could feel her lower lip quiver dangerously, "Get what?"

"Get what it's like being unpretty."

The Latina could feel her eyes go completely wide. As she opened her mouth to reply, Rachel cut her off.

"Don't." she mumbled, and Santana felt horrible, because her girlfriend was refusing to look her in the eye, looking anywhere but at her, "Just don't say a word, Santana. You're so... you're so perfect. You're absolutely stunning. The epitome of perfection, and you'd just – you'd never get what I've been through my entire life, looking the way I do."

"Stop right there." Santana cut her off then, and she pulled her hand from Rachel's grasp and lifted it to the diva's chin; tugging it gently to the side, she forced the tiny brunette to look at her, even though it was difficult, "Is this about last Friday? About that waiter dude?"

Rachel nodded faintly, "Partly."

Dropping her hand from Rachel's chin, Santana stepped away from the piano bench and furiously turned around to stare down at her girlfriend, "Fuck Rachel!" she cursed, and she could feel frustration seeping out of her every pore, and she fucking just wanted Rachel to _understand_. She wanted her to see what she saw, to get it. But of course she frigging didn't, because as fucking brilliant and smart as that girl was, she could really be dense sometimes. "What is that you don't get? _You're beautiful_."

There were legit tears forming in the diva's eyes and she reached a hand up to softly rub them away. "I've never felt beautiful in my entire life." she whispered hoarsely.

Santana could do nothing but gape at her. She didn't understand this, she _really_ didn't understand this.

"Look," Rachel said then, sniffing slightly as she tried to force one of her Award-winning smiles out, "Can't we just forget this ever happened and pretend I didn't bring it up?"

Santana felt anger aflame within her once more, because hell to the no, they were talking about this, and they were talking about it _now_. She couldn't stand the thought of Rachel walking around feeling inadequate, or feeling like she wasn't good enough for some reason. _She's so perfect, she's so amazing... why doesn't she see that? _Santana's nostrils flared. "Rachel, we need to talk about this." she firmly said, because fuck that noise, she was putting her foot down at this one.

Rachel glared at her then, nostrils flaring too, "No!"

The Latina glared at her right back, "You obviously have a problem with it, and we should have talked about this before, okay? I know you don't look like most other people, but that's what's so fucking brilliant about you. And look, I know," she continued and tried not to let her voice quiver as a sob threatened to spill from her throat, "I know that I'm partially at fault there, that all the insults that I used to – used to throw at you, and – and call you, that they've, they've fuelled the way you feel about yourself, but-" she cut herself off, swallowing a painful lump in her throat, because right now? Fuck it, right now they were finally talking about something they should have covered _a long_ time ago. Like back when they first started hanging out. They should have talked about this; about what Santana used to do to her, because right now they were both so deep in, and it hadn't been healthy to keep it locked up for so long – it was blowing up in both their faces.

Tears were spilling from Rachel's eyes rapidly, and the girl was fucking shaking on the piano bench.

Santana forced herself to continue, because this needed to be done, "But fuck, Tiny... I'm sorry, and I just – I want you to know that. And you need to talk to me about this, we need to discuss it. We should have done that a long time ago."

She shook her head, "I really don't want to talk about it, Santana."

"But we need to!" the cheerleader hissed, and it wasn't just for Rachel's sake, but for own sake as well. If she talked about it, maybe she'd feel better, maybe it'd be more okay if Rachel actually accepted a real apology from her, "It's not okay for you to feel this way and I know it's a problem for you. You – you always tell me that I need to talk more about my feelings," she whispered, "and now I'm willing to do that. You're the one who's shutting me out this time!"

Rachel's eyes were flickering when she looked at her again, "Can't we just forget it, please?" she lowly whispered, "_Please_?"

"No we cannot just forget it." Santana replied, swallowing loudly, "Tiny, if you have a problem with the way you look, if you think that you're not pretty enough to be with me, then you obviously don't see what I see... Rachel, you're... you're the most beautiful woman in the world to me."

She could hear Rachel's breath hitch in her throat.

"And I apologise," she continued to say, as she kneeled down in front of her weeping girlfriend and placed a hand on each of her knees, "I apologise from the bottom of my heart for all the things I've said and done to you. You didn't deserve them, no one deserves to go through what I put you through. Please say you'll forgive me..." she licked her lips and could feel a flutter of relief when Rachel finally met her eyes, "And please say you'll come to me if you ever feel bad about this again, because I'm your girlfriend and I want to make you feel pretty."

Raising her hand to her cheeks, Rachel rubbed her face again and drew in a teary breath, before she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Santana's neck in a tight embrace. Santana could feel her shaking body as she tried to soothe it down with her hands and some calming words, but Rachel was still crying; she could feel the tears against her neck, and the way that her lips brushed against her skin as she shook and clung to her tighter.

She had no idea how they'd gone from Rachel lying to her, to her having Rachel crying inside her arms like this, but a lot had been said since she entered this choir room, and though she was not okay with Rachel lying to her, she thought that maybe it would never be an issue again. She still had to talk to her about Amanda, though, because she was not cool with them hanging out alone – regardless of the situation. She could not be okay with another girl being alone with her girlfriend, when she knew said other girl was very much in like with her little midget.

Rachel pulled back then and pressed their lips together in a watery kiss, "I'm sorry," she mumbled, brushing her fingers through Santana's hair again and again, "I'm sorry I lied, Baby, I just, I didn't know what to do, and I needed to – to talk to her, and I'll never lie again, I promise. I love you."

"I love you, too." Santana breathed, before she pulled her back in for another kiss and clung onto her like she never wanted to let go again.

It was quite possible that she didn't.

**x**

This was the most fucking awkward thing she'd ever been a part of. Like seriously. Even more fucking awkward and uncomfortable than that time where she and Rachel went to Breadstix with Kurt and Blaine and the couple had ended up questioning her intentions with Rachel. Yeah. _That bad_, that's what it was.

All she could think of the entire evening was that Rachel looked hot, the breadsticks were awesome, and that Amanda Adams was quite possibly the most stunning girl in all of Lima, Ohio (except Rachel of course, but that was a given). Amanda was an apparent beauty, though. You didn't have to look close to realise that she was gorgeous. She was the kind of girl who had people ogling her everywhere she went. And though Santana knew about that (because fuck yeah, she was that kind of girl too), she also knew that Rachel's kind of beauty – the beauty were you had to look closer and really see – was more dangerous. It just kind of snuck up on you.

And she could so totally see that it'd snuck up on Amanda too, long before Rachel had even been on Santana's radar.

It sucked ass.

Why was she at Breadsticks with Amanda and Rachel again? Oh yeah. They'd had another fight about her. _Of course they had_. Like, two fucking hours after they left the choir room, that's when. Rachel had been texting her all day, and Santana had not been able to control her temper, and that's where the diva suggested they go out. _All fucking three of them_. Just so that Santana could 'accurately state with her own two eyes that Amanda was a wonderful and truly incredible young woman'. The Latina didn't care much about that though, she just cared about keeping her away from her hobbit.

But yeah. So there she was at Breadstix. Amanda was making googly eyes at her girlfriend, and her girlfriend was chatting none stop about truly irrelevant things. Santana just tried to convey to the black goddess through her eyes that she better stay the fuck away. Message not received properly, thank you very much. The other girl completely ignored Santana's stare and went on like everything was all good and dandy. The fuck it was! It was horrible and horrible.

Yeah!

Santana had the upper hand though. Like, the fact that she was already dating Rachel? It was a serious bonus, because while Amanda was stuck in the seat across from the diva, Santana had the benefit of sitting next to her. And she sat _next_ to her, if you don't mind. As in, practically glued to her side with a possessive hand on top of her left thigh. She ate the entire meal with one hand. It was a challenge, but Santana Lopez never backs down from such.

She could tell that Rachel was trying not to be annoyed with the way that she wouldn't leave her alone, and the way that she kept throwing small reminders into the conversation about her and Rachel's relationship – and small facts, that frankly, Amanda would probably rather have been without; they were all about their sex life. Rachel was patient though, she didn't say a word, and Santana knew that she just counted herself lucky that the Latina had even joined her on this disastrous night.

The second Rachel left for the bathroom though? Things got interesting.

"Leave my girlfriend alone!"

She hadn't been able to help herself. As soon as Rachel was out of earshot, the words hissed pass Santana's lips before she had time to stop them. It was a reflex – wasn't it normal to protect what was yours? Especially when 'what' was so fucking amazing and incredible as Rachel Barbara Berry?

Amanda's shocked expression was almost priceless, and the other girl tilted her head to the side to glance at the Latina from across the table. "What?"

Santana clenched her jaw. "I don't want you to spend time with Rachel."

"Why not?" she questioned, and her eyebrow was cocked, and it seemed like she really had no fucking clue.

The Latina rolled her eyes, "I know you and Rachel had a thing once, but she's with me now, got it? And you guys can be friends, but if I ever see or hear one thing about you trying to worm your way in between us, I'm not afraid to go all Lima Heights on you!"

Amanda snorted. "Your mother's a doctor, and you live in the nicest part of town."

Santana glared at her.

"Don't worry." Amanda said and shrugged her shoulders, "I know Rachel and I had a thing once, she was... she was my first love, but-" she swallowed loudly, "Rachel's in love with you, and you should feel stupid for even questioning that, it's written all over her face. I'd never mess with it, Rachel's too important to me. Frankly I just need a friend."

The Latina didn't believe her. Somewhere, in between all those formal and fine words, the truth was hidden. And no matter what she said, Amanda couldn't hide the truth in her eyes, or the way that she looked at Rachel. Santana knew that you can't choose who you love (if you could, she quite possibly would have chosen different a long time ago, even though she wouldn't give Rachel up for anything _now_), Amanda couldn't help feeling the way she did. Santana got it, she really did, because Rachel was a fantastic person, and why wouldn't someone else realise this, too? It just sucked that she had to worm her way into their life right now, because even though she and Rachel were good, they were still at a pretty early stage in their relationship. And their differences were disastrous sometimes; the way they could fight about silly things was so tiring and exhausting. Amanda and Rachel were so alike... they shared the same interests and the same dreams. Who could say that Rachel wouldn't find that more appealing down the road?

"Find that friend somewhere else, okay, because I really don't appreciate it." Santana snapped right back and quickly reached for her glass when she saw Rachel coming back from the restroom.

Throughout the rest of dinner, she could feel Amanda's burning gaze on her skin, and it fucking didn't help that once they were finally done eating, Rachel thought it would be just fantastic to go home and continue the night there. So they drove to the Berry household, and Amanda didn't complain once on the way there about the fact that it was the _Wicked_ soundtrack playing on the stereo, and Santana had to bite her lip, because she'd been complaining about that just earlier in the day.

"Thank you for being so great about this." Rachel whispered into her ear, as they made their way from the car towards the front door; she snuck her hand into the back pocket of the Latina's jeans, and Santana had to resist to stick her tongue out at Amanda.

Instead, she just shot Rachel a sheepish grin, "Well, you know how I do."

Opening the front door, the diva's hand slipped out of Santana's pocket though, and she hollered, "Dad! Daddy! I'm home, and I come bearing guests!"

"Is it Santana!" Hiram excitedly yelled from the living room.

Rachel shot them both a giant grin, "Among others!" she replied as she hung her coat on the rack and helped Amanda out of hers as well, to hang it up for her, too. Santana wrinkled her nose and threw her own on the floor like she usually did.

Leroy and Hiram peeked into the hallway then, and Santana couldn't help but grin at their excited faces when they saw her; she was fully prepared for her usual greeting, but the second Hiram's eyes landed on Amanda, his jaw practically came undone.

"Be still my eyes!" he dramatically cheered and rushed across the hallway to wrap his arms around the other girl in a tight hug, "Amanda Adams! What are you doing here? You've grown so much!"

Amanda giggled, "Nice to see you too, Hiram."

The tiny man shook his head at his daughter, "Rachel Barbara Berry, why didn't you tell us you were talking to this wonderful young woman again? How can you keep such information to yourself!"

"I'm sorry, Daddy." Rachel replied and pecked his cheek lightly.

Hiram then proceeded to ask Amanda a lot of questions about how she'd been and what she was up to, and Santana had to watch from the sidelines with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knew that it was not Hiram's intentions to make her feel this way, but it just hurt that he hadn't even really acknowledged her since she got there. Rachel was busy talking to her father and Amanda as well, so the Latina went into the kitchen to help herself in the fridge.

Pulling out a juice box, she stuck the straw into it and took a long sip. What a fucking day.

"Santana?"

Turning around, she came face to face with Leroy who'd entered the kitchen with a small smile edging across his face and his hands stuck deeply into his pockets. He leaned himself against the door frame, and the sounds of Rachel, Amanda and Hiram could be heard from just down the hallway.

The Latina leaned herself against the kitchen counter and continued to sip from the straw.

Leroy said, "How's my favourite Latina doing? Thanks for last Sunday, it was an amazing day, and your parents are really nice."

She tilted her head to the side, "Eh."

He chuckled, "Are you okay though? I mean... I don't know how much you know about Rachel and Amanda, but I can't imagine that it's easy for you to see them together. And don't mind Hiram, by the way, he's easily excited, but you already knew that..." the tall man chuckled fondly at the thought of his husband, "He's happy to see Amanda again, he didn't mean to forget about you."

Santana kicked her feet out slightly and drew in a sharp breath. "I don't like that they're spending time together." she murmured, drawing a round circle on the floor with her big toe. "I know all about them, what they used to be... Rachel's just trying to help, but it makes me feel bad."

Leroy nodded his head, "Amanda's been through a lot with her family because she's gay. You can just be thankful that your parents were so supportive..." he trailed off for a second, before continuing, "I know it doesn't make it easier to see them together, because I can imagine that it must be very painful for you, but... but just remember that you're Rachel's, and you're absolutely the one she wants."

The Latina swallowed loudly and glanced thoughtfully at the man she'd come to know so well, to trust so much. They had many things in common, she'd quickly realised that when she started spending time at the Berry household. And she cared for Leroy a great deal already; she could only imagine that it'd grow stronger as the years went on. "Sometimes I don't know..." she trailed off and sipped the last few drops of the juice out of the box, before she squeezed it between her hands, "I mean – sometimes it seems as if she doesn't really know what she wants. I could be it, Amanda could, too."

"There's no question." Leroy quickly said, his voice firm, "She wants you. It's written all over her face."

Santana just looked at him then; she really didn't know what to respond to that, so they just stood there in silence for a little while, looking at each other. And it felt like home, it really did. She just wished that tonight hadn't happened because as nice as it was to feel so great in the presence of Leroy, tonight had sucked giant ass, and watching Hiram fawn over Amanda so wholeheartedly, it really did strange things to her chest.

Just then, Rachel appeared in the doorway behind her father, and she wrapped her arm around his waist, "Daddy just took Amanda home." she mumbled into his side, nuzzling her nose to his shirt. It was fantastic to see them like this, she was only half his size, and it looked like she could fit into his pocket.

"Santana and I were just talking." Leroy replied and kissed her on the hair.

Rachel giggled, "Yeah I can see that. What were you talking about?"

"Nothing." Leroy said, just as Santana mumbled, "Nada."

The tiny diva gazed between the two of them and trapped her bottom lip between her teeth, "Alright, don't tell me." she mumbled, before another set of giggles escaped her mouth.

Santana shot Leroy an appreciative look, before she threw the juice box in the trash can and pushed herself away from the counter, "Alright folks, I gotta go home, I have Cheerio practice at the crack of dawn."

Leroy nudged Rachel in the side, "Why don't you follow Santana outside, Darling."

Rachel gave her father a questionable look, but she didn't say anything, she simply reached her hand out and wrapped her fingers with the Latina's. The cheerleader relished in the feel of their fingers intertwined, and she just picked up her jacket, not wanting for a second to let go so she could get it on it. They stepped right onto the porch and the light flickered on in the dark night. She didn't want to let go yet, but she knew she had to.

"Thanks for coming with me today." Rachel said then, gazing into the ground quite awkwardly, "I know it wasn't good for you... and you tried to cover all your bases, which is alright, I get it. Just..." she looked up then and slowly reached a finger out to trace it across the Latina's jaw, "Just remember that I'm yours. Truly and completely. You're the only one that I want."

Santana felt herself nod.

Rachel added, "I'm not going to stop hanging out with Amanda, though." she said then, "She needs me. Right now. _Especially_ right now."

Santana really wasn't down with that, but she didn't want to have yet another fight about the other girl. She was getting tired of it already, and she'd only just met her last Saturday. She wished with all her heart that Rachel would just understand what it did to her, but apparently her diva couldn't see that. So she'd just have to deal and try to remember what everyone kept telling her – that Rachel really loved her, and that they were good.

"I love you." she whispered then, and instead of one of the usual passionate kisses she'd throw her girlfriend's way after such a proclamation, she tilted her head down slightly and softly took the diva's head between her hands to kiss her gently on the lips.

Rachel smiled back softly, "I love you, too." she whispered.

And Santana believed her, she really did.

* * *

_Eep. The second half of this chapter kicked my butt. Like seriously. The first part was so easy to write, but for some reason I was quite stuck with the next part. I hope it's not too horrible. I want to thank you all so much for the reviews I received for the last chapter – the response was absolutely overwhelming, and it made me so happy to see how much you guys care about Santana and this new predicament she's found herself in with Amanda's return. This chapter was slightly less dramatic, even though I finally made them have a talk they should have had a very long time ago. _

_I'm sorry if my updates are a bit irregular at the moment, but half my stuff is at my apartment, the other half at the house, and I still haven't got any internet at my place, so it's all just a mess right now. As soon as I'm a bit more settled, I should get time to write more regularly. _

_I'm already in desperate need for more Glee episodes. Damn. All I have is fanfiction to go with for the next little while, so I'm hoping more people will bring me some awesome Pezberry goodness to read! Start writing, people, please! ;) _

_**Disclaimer; **I do not own Glee or RENT. _


	29. Folks Would Kill to Fill Your Shoes

**Chapter Twenty Nine **

**Folks Would Kill to Fill Your Shoes **

It was sort of there in the back of her mind still, this Amanda business. She knew she shouldn't worry because as far as everyone told her, Rachel loved her and they were good. The problem was just that she couldn't _help_ but keep wondering about it, no matter what other people told her when she complained to them. She hated to sound redundant (yup, that was a Rachel-word she'd taken to like recently, it just fitted _so well_ with her situation), but she blabbered to Quinn and Puck more about it than she probably should.

She just didn't _get_ what the big deal about Amanda Adams was. What was so fucking great about her anyway? She was like – just another person right? Sure, she was sort of pretty and liked the same things that Rachel did, but what did that matter? A person's just... a person. Right? _Right_? Yes, Santana thought so.

One thing was okay, though, because Santana was pretty certain that Rachel wasn't seeing too much of Amanda. They texted, she knew that, and there was a phone call every night now that they'd entered each other's lives again. But they didn't hang out, because Rachel was pretty busy these days. She was too busy to even see her girlfriend (which bothered said girlfriend a lot... many things bothered her, but she was most vocal about this one).

For the rest of the week, she did not get to spend any time with Rachel – she barely saw her. They always drove separate cars to school these days, and between classes Rachel was a whirlwind of crazy. Santana _missed_ her. She knew that it was sort of stupid and weird, but she really missed her. She missed how they used to be when they were just starting out. So many things had changed, and don't get her wrong, she appreciated a lot of them, but it seemed like her and Rachel had now gotten so comfortable, and so used to each other that their relationship was entirely different. It was okay though, because the Latina knew that they had to grow – she just wished that they weren't spending so much time apart, that they were growing _together_.

It was stupid, but she blamed it all on Amanda Adams. In the course of one week, that girl had managed to put some bad vibes between her and Rachel. Santana wasn't fond of the feeling in the pit of her stomach, this green monster of jealousy, and she found herself wondering what the fuck had happened to the girl that she was – the girl she used to be. That girl wouldn't have feared that her girl was going to cheat on her, and she wouldn't have felt insecure. But it was like Rachel brought out all these different sides of her, and she flipped her reality around completely so nothing was as it used to be. She just wanted it to be the same – she wanted _them_ to be the same.

She was looking very much forward to their usual Friday night – it was sort of their night. No matter what they did, if they went out or if they stayed in, it had always been their night, from way before they even started dating, back when they were only friends. And she couldn't wait to snuggle up next to her girlfriend and just _be_ with her – with nothing coming between them. (Nothing being Amanda Adams).

_can't wait 4 2nite babe. _

Santana smiled to herself and pressed the send button before she turned her attention back to Brittany, who was grinning at her like crazy. The blonde had grabbed her the second she entered school that morning, and dragged her towards the library. Santana still wasn't certain what they were really doing there, and since Brittany wasn't really saying or doing anything that might explain it, she'd thought she'd text Rachel and let her know she had arrived at school.

"So tell me Britt," the Latina said then and pocketed her iPhone, "why are we here again?"

Brittany looked thoughtful for a second or two as she bit her lip and her eyes wandered around. "Uhm I was just – I was looking for the, that thing, do you know it?"

Wrinkling her forehead, Santana said, "No. What thing again?"

The blonde girl grinned, "That thing that they have here. At the library."

"A book?"

"Yeah!" Brittany replied, nodding enthusiastically, "One of... those."

Santana stared at her friend in complete confusion. She knew Brittany was special and that she sometimes was a little slow on the uptake, and usually, she'd be all for that, and she fucking understood Brittany better than _anyone_, but this? This made absolutely no fucking sense to her. It was just a little too out there. Santana felt her phone buzz in her pocket again, and she shot Brittany another confused look, before she retrieved it and found a new text message from Rachel.

_Yes, about tonight, Baby... I'm sorry, but I'll have to postpone it, because my ballet instructor called, and if I truly want the lead at our show next month, I need all the proper training I can get. So I'm going to be practising alone with her tonight, and I don't know when I'll be done. I'm sorry. _

Feeling the annoyance in the pit of her stomach, Santana angrily clutched her phone and clenched her jaw. No fucking way! She was _not_ going to let Rachel practice ballet all fucking evening. Rachel was good enough, way better than any of those girls, and for fuck's sake, she needed a break, and Santana needed her _girlfriend_. She was not used to being second best, she was not going to be the person that Rachel was with when she just had time. She wanted to be the person Rachel couldn't be _without_ – because that was the fucking way that she felt about her!

She was going to fucking tell her that, and she was going to do it right now!

Turning around on her heel, Santana didn't care much about library politics and she angrily turned a chair over, before she felt a warm hand around her wrist, turned her face back and came face to face with Brittany.

"San! San, where are you going?" she asked her, and the questions were written in her blue eyes, and she just looked adorable.

The Latina growled and ripped her arm free from Brittany's grasp, "I'm going to fucking talk to Rachel! I haven't seen her all week, and it's fucking annoying. I get these weird stings in the pit of my stomach, and I just _know _it's because of her, damnit!" she all but yelled, and she didn't even care that other students were wandering the halls. All she cared about were the frigging tears of frustration in her eyes, and the weird insecure feeling in the pit of her stomach. She didn't like it, she didn't like it one bit.

Brittany chewed on her lower lip again and shifted from one foot to another. "But San, I needed help finding that- that book thing. Okay? Will you help?"

Santana sighed and told herself to calm down; she shouldn't snap at Brittany, it was not her fault that Rachel was so distant right now. She couldn't help her though, because she had a feeling that if she didn't talk to Rachel _today_ – right now – she might not get a chance until next week since the girl kept cancelling on her. "B, I'm sorry," she said, shrugging her shoulders, "but I gotta go find Rach, okay? She's – she's my girlfriend, and I really miss her..."

Something akin of understanding flickered through Brittany's blue eyes, and she gave the Latina a short nod. "Okay." she lightly said, "I'll come with you. But if Q asks, I did a much better job at trying to keep you here."

The Latina paused, and the second she did so, Brittany probably realised that she'd said too much, because her eyes went absolutely wide and she clasped a hand across her mouth, while Santana's own eyes narrowed in on her and she took a step closer, "What do you mean 'trying to keep me here'? What's Quinn got to do with _anything_?" she hissed.

The blonde girl lowered her hand again and looked to the ground for a second or two, before she dared meet the Latina's eyes. "Quinn asked me to get you to help me find that book, San..." she trailed off, and her innocence was rather cute, even though Santana really didn't want to think so right now.

"Why?" she snapped.

Brittany sighed. "She had to talk to Rachel."

Santana felt her heartbeat speed up. "To Rachel? Why would she need to talk to Rachel, Britt!" _This is not fucking good, it's really not. _

Brittany shook her head. "Dunno, San, it was something about you and Amanda and stuff."

The second Amanda's name left Brittany's mouth, Santana knew that she had to go find Quinn and Rachel right now. She had no idea what Quinn wanted to accomplish by talking to Rachel, she just knew that she had to stop it, before things were said that really shouldn't be said. Like Quinn telling Rachel what Santana _really_ thought of Amanda, or Quinn saying to Rachel that she had to stop – Santana appreciated it if Quinn was truly trying to help, but she had a bad fucking feeling in the pit of her stomach that things were only going to get worse if Quinn meddled.

"Where Britt?" she asked then, as the panic rose within her, and _oh holy fuck, this frigging isn't happening! _"Where are they?"

Brittany shrugged her shoulders again and stuck her hands into her pockets, but Santana turned around on her heel and practically started running down the hallway to get to the choir room – the only place that would truly make sense for them to be. She could hear Brittany trailing behind her, mumbling things about Quinn and about help and something about ducks, but she didn't really listen. She just brushed pass all the students that were making their way towards their first period class, and hoped to God that she could stop this from happening before it really did.

Turning a corner and seeing the door to the choir room in the distance, Santana came to a halt and paused- _I wonder what they're talking about? _She bit her lip and took a tentative step closer. She didn't want Quinn to say something stupid to upset her girlfriend, but a part of her was really curious to find out what Quinn had in mind; like, why was it that she needed to talk to Rachel so bad? Maybe it wouldn't be such a huge disaster as Santana had first feared...

Placing her finger to her lips, the Latina motioned for Brittany to be quiet, and the two girls crept closer to the choir room. The door was wide open, and as they huddled against the wall outside, Quinn's voice rung loud and clear.

"-what this is doing to you!" Quinn hissed, and Santana could just imagine that Scary-Quinn look on her face that had all her ex-boyfriends shaking in their pants (Rachel though, she'd probably take it standing up; she had so in the past for sure), "Santana _loves_ you, Rachel! I swear, sometimes I still don't get why it happened, but apparently you two were just exactly what each other needed. Santana's been through enough heartbreak with Brittany, okay? Don't break her all over again, everything's finally starting to look up for her."

Rachel huffed loudly, "I don't understand why you feel the need to have this conversation with me, Quinn? Is it because you have an irrational fear that I'm going to leave Santana? Why would I do that! I _love _her."

Santana felt that weird fluttering feeling in the pit of her stomach. Heh. It was kinda nice. She clutched her hand to Brittany's a littler tighter.

The HBIC snapped right back at her, "Then what's with this Amanda business, Rachel? I swear to God, Santana may be good at hiding it, but she's freaking out. It seems like you still like her, and Santana can't deal with it, she just can't."

"Please, Santana's not good at hiding anything, I _know_ her, Quinn," Rachel replied, her voice going soft at the end, "I know all of her looks and all of her defence mechanisms. I know that she doesn't like the fact that I'm spending time with Amanda, but truly, I need to do this. She's – she's going through some things right now, and my fathers and I, we're literally the only people that she has."

Quinn then said, "But she wants you, Rachel! She does, don't shake your head! She wants you still, and _that's _what worries Santana the most, because she may trust you, but she doesn't trust her!"

Rachel sighed, "Trusting me should be enough then."

The blonde continued, and Santana found herself leaning her head closer towards the door, because she didn't want to miss a thing. "You look at her, too." she said, "Santana knows that. She knows that she was your first love and that the two of you share something special. Kind of like her and Brittany."

"And do you see me denying her any time with Brittany?" was Rachel's counter-attack, and Santana squeezed Brittany's hand for good measure, because she could see that the blonde girl immediately got worried, and she just wanted to assure her that their friendship wouldn't end.

Quinn sighed too, "No of course not. But that's the difference between you and Santana. You can handle it, she can't." she paused, "And don't even try to deny that you're still attracted to Amanda, because we all know you are."

"You're right." Rachel whispered, and Santana felt this weird sting in her heart and her breath hitched in her throat, "I am still attracted to Mandy. And if I hadn't been dating Santana, I would probably have persuaded a relationship with her again, but that's not really an issue, is it, Quinn, because I only want Santana." she swallowed loudly, and Santana tried not to freak out by the words she was just hearing, "And Amanda wouldn't do anything. She respects that I have a girlfriend whom I love very much."

"She _smelled_ your hair, Rachel!" Quinn snapped then, probably losing what little patience she seemed to posses when it came to their favourite diva, "At the cheerleading competition! She fucking smelled your hair when she hugged you! I saw it. Santana was freaking the hell out inside the dressing room and I went to sneak a peek at this new girl, and I saw it, she smelled your hair."

Rachel was quiet for a long time, and Santana hoped to God that something wonderful was going to come out of her mouth next; something that would reassure her. She had to admit though that Quinn's hostile feelings to this entire Amanda business made a lot more sense now. She'd seen something she deemed very inappropriate (and let's face it, it was Quinn, the epitome of a Virgin Mary, _of course_ she'd find hair-smelling inappropriate!), and that was why she'd been acting the way she had. Brittany hadn't believed that there was something to worry about, but from day one, Quinn had been on the fence. Santana had to admit that it was fucking nice to have the blonde HBIC back in her corner – only a true friend would go to these lengths to make sure that she wasn't hurt.

Finally Rachel replied and the Latina loosened her grip on Brittany's hand a little bit, "Don't you think I know that?" she whispered, and Santana had to lean a little closer to hear better, "I'm worried that her feelings for me are returning to the heights they used to be, because I know I'll never return them and she'll just end up getting hurt." she paused and Santana felt a lot better after hearing that, "But I still have to help her get through this. Quinn, she's – she's considering leaving home because she can't deal with the fact that her parents won't accept her. She doesn't have many friends at Carmel, and we're trying to figure out if there's a place for her to stay. Until then..." she trailed off, "Until then she's been spending a lot of time at my place."

_What the fuck? She's _living_ with them? _

"She's _living_ with you?"

_Just my thoughts, Q, just my thoughts... _

Brittany placed a comforting hand on her arm.

Rachel replied, "No, she's not living with us, because her parents would probably send her off to some Gay-camp or something. She tells them she's with one of her _friends_ from the Camels and they believe her. But she has to spend most of her nights at home."

Quinn snickered.

"Why am I even telling you this?" Rachel argued then and there was the distinct sound of a foot-stomp, "I think it's absolutely marvellous that you care so much about Santana – frankly she needs a friend like you – but I don't appreciate being cornered and doubted. I love her, and that should be enough, I'd never deceive her, I just don't do that."

Quinn snickered again, "Oh really? What about Puck? The second _you_ felt insecure in your relationship with Finn, you went straight into his arms!"

Rachel laughed, "And that's coming from you? Very nice Quinn, very nice."

Santana could practically feel the angry vibes escaping from the small confines of the choir room, and she could just imagine Rachel and Quinn in there – giving each other angry glares. She wasn't quite sure what the fuck she was supposed to feel after overhearing this conversation; she didn't feel much better, she didn't feel reassured. But the fact that Rachel kept repeating that she loves her did make her feel a lot better. And she'd known that all along, of course, but it was like Quinn said... Rachel wasn't the problem. _Amanda was._

"I think we're done here." Rachel then finally said, and suddenly footsteps starting nearing the door, and the Latina turned on her heel and hauled Brittany off towards the nearest bathroom in a hurry so they wouldn't get caught.

As she leaned against the tiled bathroom wall with Brittany giving her a sad smile, Santana couldn't help but frown. _What the fuck do I do now, then? _

**x**

_Pick up the damn phone Tiny, come on... pick up, pick up! _

"Hi Baby!"

_Fuck yeah! _"Hey Tiny." Santana softly replied, and she couldn't help but smile into the damn phone in relief. She hadn't really talked to Rachel at school at all, because after the conversation she heard, she'd tried to avoid her.

Rachel sounded happy to hear from her though, when she replied, "Where were you during school? I tried to find you and text you, but... I couldn't, and you didn't reply. If I didn't know you'd never do so, I would have started to think you were avoiding me!"

That guilty feeling in the pit of her stomach? So not fucking nice. "Yeah, I was... busy. Had to help B with something in the library." _Not a fucking lie... still not the entire truth, but not a fucking lie. _

Her midget diva seemed to be okay with that though. "Oh! Well, I'm so glad you're helping her with her homework, Baby, she needs it." she giggled, "Did you want anything in particular?"

Oh yeah! There was a reason for this phone call after all... It wasn't just 'cuz she felt a bit guilty, though that was partly it; mostly it was just the desire to see her girlfriend later tonight that had her coming out of hiding. "Well, I know you said you had ballet all evening with your instructor, but I was hoping that afterwards... you'd come to Puck's place? Uhm, he's having this sort of party for the Glee kids... Kurt and Blaine will be there too, and Matt's totally in town this weekend! It's going to be great, and it wouldn't be a party without you... I don't wanna go without you."

Rachel was quiet on the other end of the phone for a long time as she seemed to think it over. "Uhm..." she trailed off. 'Uhm'? So not a Rachel Berry phrase.

"I miss you, Tiny." Santana rasped out then, and she knew it was playing it fucking unfair, but she couldn't help herself. She wanted – no scratch that, she fucking _needed_ – Rachel to come tonight. And it _was_ because she missed her. No fucking lie.

Rachel was almost whispering when she replied, "I miss you, too."

Santana felt her heart skip a beat, "So will you come?"

"Don't be mad," Rachel said then, and Santana could practically hear it in her voice that she was torn up about what to do, "but... But I wasn't really going to do ballet tonight." she murmured, and Santana heard all alarms go off inside her head, "I – I know I said I wouldn't lie anymore, but I only did this because I know you'd never be okay with it..."

_No, no no no! Not Amanda fucking Adams! No, Rachel, don't say her fucking name right now! _

Rachel continued, "But Amanda is going to spend the night with me."

_No! _"Rachel!"

"I'm sorry!"

"You said you wouldn't lie to me." Santana choked out, because fuck that, this was making her sad _and _angry right now. And there was just no fucking way that that other girl would be spending the night with her _girlfriend_. So fucking not happening. "How could you lie to me again?"

"I don't know..."

Santana arched an eyebrow and angrily kicked the side of her bed, "You don't fucking know? You have to do better than that, Rachel!" she sighed and threw herself onto her bed. She didn't want to fight with her again about this, she really didn't... all she wanted was to see her tonight. And you know fucking what? There was a solution to all of this that would also make her feel a lot better, because at least Amanda wouldn't be alone with her girlfriend for the _entire_ evening. "You know? I'll – I'll talk to Puck, okay? And you bring Amanda to the party – I promise we'll all be_ nice _to her." _No I fucking won't. _"Just – I need to see you, Rachel, I – I feel like we haven't seen each other all week."

Rachel breathed out heavily, "Can I really bring her?"

Swallowing, Santana forced out a tiny, "Yes."

"Thank you... I can't wait to see you tonight. I love you, Santana."

"I love you, too."

**x**

There's this thing called awkwardness.

Santana was a part of it right now.

It didn't feel good. Not at all.

But yeah. She was smiling at Amanda, who was sitting on the couch in Puck's basement, squeezed in between Kurt and Blaine, who were both just fucking _loving_ her. And they were giving her the third degree, while Rachel kept telling them to stop, and Santana was just sitting there, trying not to fall asleep over this _riveting_ conversation. The good thing though? Rachel had been perched on top of her lap since she and Amanda arrived – which was two fucking hours ago. It seemed as if the diva had missed her just as much as the Latina had missed _her_. And that she needed to be close to her, just like Santana just wanted to hold onto her for the entire evening and not let go.

Quinn and Puck and Brittany were giving Amanda evil-eyes from across the room, but Santana didn't think she noticed.

Most of the other Gleeks were just confused as to who this absolutely stunning girl was. And they were shooting Santana questioning glances, but she tried to ignore those. What was up with those effing Glee clubbers and their insane thirst for gossip? Mercedes was practically heaving over there, where she and Lauren had taken to devouring the food-table. Oddly enough, they'd left all the sliced vegetables – that Rachel brought – for the rest of them.

Resting her cheek against Rachel's shoulder, Santana relished in the feel of her warm body against her skin and the way that she could feel Rachel breathing. She felt like she was always hurting on the inside because of this girl. Not only when she screwed up and upset her, or – or hurt her by spending time with Amanda. But also when they were just with each other, or like now, where Santana just couldn't stop hurting in her heart because she simply _loved_ her so damn much.

It was so strange – was love really supposed to hurt like this? If it was, she wondered why people seemed to crave it so much. Or maybe they just didn't love like she did. She didn't think Brittany hurt like this all the time over Artie, or that Puck did for Lauren, or even Quinn for Sam. They simply couldn't love them as much as she loved Rachel. And even though it hurt like fucking hell, she didn't want the love to stop, because if it did – she'd hurt even more over _not_ having it.

She swallowed loudly and absently tightened her arms around her girlfriend.

Turning her head to the side, Rachel's warm brown eyes met hers, "Are you okay?" she whispered as she turned slightly over in the cheerleader's lap and carefully pushed a lock of Santana's hair back. "You're so quiet tonight, Baby."

"Just thinkin'..." Santana trailed off, and she gazed into the singer's eyes and couldn't get herself to look away.

Rachel smiled softly, "I'm sorry things have been so rough lately..." she whispered, and the honesty in her voice was almost gut-wrenching, "I know it's mostly my fault, and I promise you it'll quiet down soon." her eyes flickered away for a brief moment, before they were back looking at Santana's, slightly moist, "Just remember that I love you more than anything."

The Latina thought that it was weird how Rachel – with just a few words – could make her want to weep her eyes out... _because of happiness_. She didn't though. Because they were in the middle of a party with other people and that just wasn't badass.

"It's you and me, right?" the diva murmured and brushed their noses together.

Santana couldn't control her soft smile when she was reminded of the future they had planned together – just a little over a year from now. She didn't want things to change from how they were when they met, but she also couldn't wait to start their life together in New York. It was going to be fucking amazing with Rachel there by her side. Anything else didn't matter. "For fuckin' ever..." she agreed, before she pressed their lips together and pulled her girlfriend in for a deep kiss.

She let her senses overtake completely as she sucked in everything that Rachel was willing to give her. The smell of her hair, the feel of her bare skin beneath her fingertips. The way that she tasted, and the way that fireworks went off inside her head whenever their lips touched. And the way that she could hear her breathing, those tiny whimpers she made when their lips brushed just right. Mostly though – the way that Santana just _knew_ that she was there. Always.

"Alright girls," Puck laughed as he pulled Rachel off Santana's lap, "you wanna borrow a bedroom? It'd be hot."

Santana said, "Shut up, Puck!" just as Rachel mumbled, "Don't be so crass, Noah!"

The big boy laughed out loud, and seconds after both Rachel and Santana joined in, and right then, it felt like everything was good between them. At least for now.

After that Santana felt like her mood had shifted drastically – all the troubles of the last few days didn't matter anymore, and Rachel was by her side from then on, no matter what they did. They all sat down in a circle and played a silly game of Truth or Dare, and after that they played Spin the Bottle. At last, Rachel and Puck went upstairs to find his sister's game of Twister and they placed the mat on the floor and made fools of themselves for the better part of three hours. Artie was spinning and the rest of them took turns. It was quite interesting in the third round when it came down between Brittany and Rachel – they were both in very odd positions, but the girls' flexibility really gave everyone inside that room a _very_ interesting show. Santana felt very turned on.

Which was why – once the mat was folded up and everyone had turned to do whatever it was that they did – Santana found herself pressing Rachel up against the wall in the hallway upstairs, away from prying eyes and gossiping friends. She could feel every inch of Rachel's body pressing into her, as she squeezed the tinier girl roughly against the wall. The diva's hands were tangled in her loose hair, pulling it slightly, as their mouths moved in perfection unison, and Santana felt like she just wanted to devour the other girl completely. The need to be close to her was so overwhelming the Latina could hardly think straight. Her knee was tangled between Rachel's thighs and she couldn't help but move her hips completely frantically in some sort of attempt to relieve the insufferable throbbing between her thighs.

Rachel moaned loudly as Santana hit a good spot, and the Latina pulled her mouth from the other girl's, then let her forehead rest against the wall next to where the diva was resting her head. "We can't do this here." she breathed out as she tried to catch her breath completely. No matter how much she wanted to, they really couldn't do this here. Someone would catch them and Puck would never let them live it down. Not after the episode at Rachel's house where everyone had heard them have sex the entire night.

"Mhm, never mind..." Rachel trailed off and pulled Santana's head gently back by her shoulder, "A bit more kissing..." she murmured, before she crashed their lips together again, and though the Latina knew she should probably object, she didn't, she just let herself continue to kiss her girlfriend, as her lips buzzed and the tingles went down her spine.

They were abruptly pulled apart by the slamming of a door, and Santana's head snapped to the side, only to find Kurt and Amanda looking at them; Kurt with a cheery expression on his face (absolutely thrilled to have caught them in the act) and Amanda with a … absolutely hurt look across her face. Santana glared at her.

"There she is!" the boy said and pushed Amanda forward in their direction, "Divalicious, you can't just leave your guest among people she doesn't know!" he shook his head at Rachel, who still hadn't moved from her spot between Santana's body and the wall (much to the Cheerio's happiness), "Amanda got a text from her parents, it's of the utmost importance!"

Rachel breathed out, "Did something happen?" and Santana loved that she was completely flustered and out of breath. Hehehe. Take that one, Amanda Adams!

The Afro-American girl awkwardly shuffled closer on her feet, "My parents... they – they want me home, I guess. Can I talk to you for a second before I go?"

The diva's eyes flickered to Santana's and they were loaded with questions. The Latina had to admit that she absolutely loved, that Rachel had at least understood why she felt so awkward with Amanda there all the time and that she was now (sort of) asking her for permission in a way. The Latina gave an almost invisible nod, only understandable to her girlfriend, and pushed herself away from the wall. "I'll be downstairs." she mumbled, before she brushed pass Amanda (maybe a bit more roughly than she should have) and grabbed Kurt by his sleeve, before pulling him with her down the stairs to the basement.

The door smacked close behind them and Santana immediately went to the counter that held all the booze. She needed a drink, and she quickly made herself something that consisted of a little bit of everything, just to make sure that she wouldn't worry about the conversation that was being had upstairs.

She felt a warm hand on her shoulder and turned her head to the side, only to find Puck giving her a concerned look, "You okay?" he questioned her.

Wincing as the burning liquid slid down her throat, Santana shook her head. "No."

Puck grabbed a beer and opened it against the side of the table, "I don't get why Rach can't see it! That Amanda girl is eye-sexing her all the damn time, and she looked about ready to rip your head off when you guys were making out in my chair..." he paused and wriggled his eyebrows, "Thanks for doing that by the way."

The Latina rolled her eyes, "I really hate that they spend some much fucking time alone together. It really gets to me, and I just don't want it to!"

"They're upstairs together right now, eh?" he wanted to know then and took a long sip of his beer as he eyed her.

Santana nodded. "Fuck yeah! Amanda needed to 'talk to her'-" she cut herself off as she used air quotes and wondered for a brief second when she started doing _that_. She bit her lip. _Probably around the time I fell in love with Rachel_. "-it's fucking annoying! I just know that she'll do something one day and when she does, I can't say I'll care much about her feelings, 'cuz I'll fucking kill her."

Puck smirked, "And after that Rachel will cut you, because no matter if Amanda meddled or not, she wouldn't want _you_ to stoop to her level."

She groaned, "What Rachel doesn't know won't hurt her, and this is definitely a conversation that stays between the two of us, Puckerman!" she hit him on the arm in a brotherly kind of way, "And when I need to main her? I'll come to you."

He chuckled, "Wouldn't have it any other way, lesbro."

Just as the other boy left her alone to go find his girlfriend, Santana felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, and she quickly pulled it up, only to find Rachel's picture smiling up at her. Placing her drink on the table, she brushed her fingers across the screen and opened the new text, hoping that it was Rachel telling her that she was ready to leave the party and go home and have awesome sex instead.

She quickly became _very_ disappointed. And very fucking mad.

_Babe? Will you please come upstairs and take me home? Amanda and I just had a fight. _

Frowning to herself, Santana quickly turned on her heel to leave the basement again. She could practically hear Rachel's sadness through the phone and it wasn't a very good feeling. She kicked the door open and found Rachel on the floor, back against the wall, and tears running down her cheeks. Closing the door to the noisy basement behind her, Santana sat down next to her tiny girlfriend and wrapped a comforting arm around her.

"Tiny?" she whispered, pressing her nose to the base of her neck, desperately trying to encourage her to look up, "What happened, Baby?"

Rachel sniffed loudly and looked up. Her eyes were wet with tears and her nose was red. She brushed the back of her hands against it as her lips quivered. "A – Amanda... she ki- she-" she cut herself off as she hiccuped, "She- she told me that she, that she still wants me, Santana! S-s-s-she _kissed_ me."

_Oh. Holy. Hell! _

As Santana just gaped at her, Rachel quickly rushed to continue with a stuttering explanation, "I told her that, that I-I love you, I o-only want _you_, Baby," she brushed her cheek off again, "so we had the, the fight."

The Latina just watched her then, as she tried to digest everything she'd just head. Fucking hell to the no! That girl was fucking done when she'd gotten to her. She fucking _knew_ that Rachel was taken. Who the fuck did she think she was? Kissing other people's girlfriends like that? You just don't do that shit!

"Please s-s-s-say something, Santana." Rachel whispered then, and it seemed like she'd gotten better control over her voice.

Santana quickly squeezed her girlfriend closer to her body and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I love you, Rachel. I wanna say 'I told you so', but fuck... I _knew_ this was going to happen!"

Rachel flinched, "She's just confused, Baby, she'll get over it."

Pulling away from her, Santana gave her a hard stare. "Yeah, she probably will, Rachel, but you're not going to be there to experience it." she raised an eyebrow for good measure, "You're fucking done spending time with her, okay? I mean it. You're fucking _done_."

* * *

_I am so, so, so sorry about the extremely long delay for this chapter! I've just been swamped with everything... Moving, settling into the apartment, the few last weeks of school and writing the project for my exam (which is tomorrow). There's been so many birthdays and stuff, I just didn't have time to write! And then this weekend I thought I would, but then... other things got in the way, as in I'm now incredibly smitten with the most wonderful girl I've met in a VERY long time, so I've been spending the past few nights hanging out with her. I'm really very happy, and it was very hard to sit down and write the rest of this chapter which is just sort of not happy at all. In reality, I can hardly stop smiling! _

_Anyway! I hope this chapter was worth the long wait? There's still drama left, and it's going to get a bit more ugly for our two favourite girls now that Amanda pulled this one... don't worry, I'd never ruin Pezberry, but I love to make it a bit harder for them to handle each other ;) _

_Please leave me your thoughts and I hope that it won't be this long before I update, though I do have a lot of work coming up the next couple of weeks, unfortunately. _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or RENT. _


	30. If You Give a Damn

**Chapter Thirty **

**If You Give a Damn **

The response that followed immediately after that, Santana probably should have predicted-

"_Excuse_ me?" Rachel questioned, disbelief written across her face as all trace of sadness and regret was washed away quickly with just a few words.

Santana glared at her girlfriend and willed herself to – this time – win this fight. She believed that she'd been fairly fucking large regarding Amanda, but after this? Fuck that noise. She did not want Rachel spending time with her anymore, and she was going to get what she wanted, Goddamnit. "You heard me, Rachel." she hissed, not even blinking as her eyes met chocolate pools.

Rachel huffed and as she slid a few inches away from the Latina, she crossed her arms, "You can't tell me what do to." she stubbornly said. And honestly? Santana thought that she sounded like a little child.

The cheerleader rolled her eyes. "What part of '_I'm_ your girlfriend' is it that you don't get?" she questioned, and she could feel anger, sadness, and desperation creep up inside of her in one giant mess, and it was frustrating, because fuck, she loved this girl, but if she continued to disregard everything that Santana wanted and needed... well, maybe there wouldn't be a future for them after all. And just the thought of that absolutely broke Santana's heart. "Rachel, I've been freaking the fuck out ever since you started hanging out with that – that – that _skank_! And I just... I'm asking you now, just don't see her again."

"Oh, you're asking me now?" Rachel argued, "Because it seems like you're _telling_ me."

Santana heaved in a deep breath and told herself to stay calm. The real part of her wanted to yell at the diva and tell her off, she wanted nothing more than to let her Latina fury out, but she knew that Rachel would never look at her again if she truly did that. "Yes. Okay? Yes, I am telling you Rachel. I don't want you to spend any more time with her. Can't you see what's happening? We're growing apart, it's only been a fucking week, and she's already making this – this _wedge_ between us!"

Rachel shook her head, "No. Santana, that's all in your head, okay? Amanda's just very confused. You remember how that feeling is, don't you? What it's like to not know what to do and who to go to with all of your thoughts."

The Latina glared at her, "Oh so she's confused? What's so confusing about her kissing you? I think it's pretty clear to everybody what she feels for you, Rachel! Except you – fuck it, you're so goddamn naïve!"

The diva gasped, "Huh! Don't say that about me, Santana! I've just been trying to help. She's my friend, okay? And she needs _help._"

"But she likes you."

Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe so. Maybe not! Alright? I know she told me, but you really don't know that. She's confused! And _if _she does – it wouldn't matter, Baby, because I love _you_. Don't you ever doubt that. I told you earlier that I'm sorry these past few weeks have been tough on us, but I believe it's just a phase that all couples go through. I wish you'd understand that I have no intentions of ever feeling anything for Amanda again, I'm over that. I only want you, and I wish you'd stop being insecure."

_How come it is that you see right through me? _Santana rolled her eyes. "I'm not insecure. You're so fucking wrong."

"I'm wrong?" Rachel questioned as an eyebrow rose up to practically meet her hairline. "Baby, you forget that I know you, and that you can't hide yourself from me. Is it because of the way that Brittany blew you off for Artie? Or is it about all of the times Noah only used you for sex?" she shrugged her shoulders as a sad look overtook her features, "Maybe you think you're not enough for someone to want to keep, but you're everything _I _want."

Santana choked back something odd in her throat and turned her head to the side to stare at the wall. Oh fuckety fucking fuck. Why was it that Rachel _knew_ her so well? She saw everything she was feeling on the inside, even if it wasn't what she was showing on the outside. Was that was love was like? Because it fucking sucked.

She felt a tentative hand on her arm as Rachel breathed out, "Baby..."

Trying to hold back those annoying tears that threatened to fall from her eyes, Santana turned her head back to look at her girlfriend and whispered, "I just don't want you to see her, Rach, just... don't see her, okay? Why can't you see it through my eyes and just understand?"

Rachel licked her lips and sighed. "I think that maybe the both of us need to see things through the other's eyes. I want to help her... I think I _need_ to help her to feel good about myself. I just wish you could support that."

"And I wish you could see why I don't want you anywhere near her!" Santana argued, and could feel the anger bubble within her again, because she was not backing down with this one, and she was not compromising her feelings once more.

The brunette puckered her lips and snapped, "Well, if we can't settle on anything, then I really don't know what to say to you. Of course I'd be reminding her once more that I am in a loving – though right now it certainly does not appear that way – relationship, and that I am deeply in love." she brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear, "She would understand that of course, because she actually _listens_ when I speak!"

Santana rolled her eyes, "She listens? Dammit Rachel, she just wants to _fuck_ you! And I'm telling you, if you even give just a little _damn_ about me and our relationship you're going to call her tomorrow and tell her you can't see her again."

When Rachel grew quiet, Santana felt her insides crumple into nothing, and she pulled herself away from the other girl and stood up. She glared down at her and tried not to break completely, because this was not at all how things were supposed to go; they were supposed to be in love and be happy, and what was happening now? Everything was falling into pieces. It had taken so long to build this up, and now... now it was falling apart infinitely easier. The Latina drew in a sharp breath. "I see."

"Santana I love you." Rachel rasped out, and now there were fucking tears in her eyes, too, "But I... I have to do this. She's my, she's my oldest friend. She was my _only_ friend growing up. I owe her at least that much."

The cheerleader rolled her eyes, "You owe her fucking _nothing_, Rachel!" she all but yelled, and she didn't even care if their friends in the room below them would be able to hear, she just wanted Rachel to understand and see her side of things. "Why can't you see that this is ruining us? Me! I actually wanted that future in New York with you, but if things continue this way, you and I are going to be over before Regionals next week, I-" she cut herself off when the pure realisation of that actually took a hold of her, and she realised that it was true. She didn't think she'd be able to do this anymore, she didn't think that she could even handle one more week of this. "If you and her are such good friends, maybe you should just date her instead."

Rachel was staring at her, mouth agape and with disbelief in her round eyes. "How can you even suggest that-?" she cut herself off and quickly stumbled off the floor as well so they were a bit more on the same level, "Amanda and I shared something special, yes. You and I do too, but we were more alike. We had the same interests!"

Santana snapped, "So now it's a problem that I don't do ballet and listen to showtunes?"

"No!" Rachel quickly defended herself and stomped her foot into the floor to prove her point, "You're absolutely missing my point. I'm saying it's _nice_ that you and I are different, that we don't automatically want the same things..." she trailed off and shook her head to herself, "I'm just thinking that – that sometimes it'd be nice if... if you'd at least pretend to like the things I do instead of shutting them out, or – or I think it'd be incredibly great if I didn't always have to see the scowl on your face when I _do_ talk about Broadway or ballet."

"The scowl on my face?" Santana huffed in disbelief. Rachel thought she was scowling? No fucking way! She'd been trying incredibly hard not to appear that way, and she'd done a damn good job at it, too! "Rachel! You can't just change me. I am who I am, and if you don't want that, then maybe you really _should_ break up with me and get back together with your precious ballerina!"

Rachel rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips, and the Latina could tell that she was angrier than she'd ever seen her before, "_Again_! There you go, completely twisting around my words! I don't want to break up with you, I love you, Santana! More than I've ever fucking loved another person in my entire life!" she bid back a sob and brushed away the tears that were spilling down her cheeks (the Latina wasn't certain whether or not they were of sadness or anger, just that they were there).

She wanted to comfort her, kiss her, hug her... hate her. And the thoughts inside her head? One giant mess of crazy. "Then why can't you let her go? Why does she mean so much to you?"

"She just does!" Rachel argued.

Santana knew that she shouldn't say this, and that it was an enormous low-blow, but she couldn't stop herself before the words had slipped pass her lips, "Oh really? Because I'm starting to think that you haven't told me everything! Was I even your first?"

Rachel gasped, "How _dare_ you ask me that! You _know _how much that night meant to me!"

"Then just do it, for fuck's sake! Let her go, Goddamnit!" Santana snapped.

Rachel grew quiet once more and took a step back, letting her arms fall to her sides as she softly shook her head to herself.

_No_.

Turning around on her heel, Santana completely ignored her girlfriend as she descented the stairs to the basement in a mess of confusion and anger. She made a beeline for the alcohol, deeming to drink herself into obliviousness, and she completely ignored Quinn when she queered whether she was alright or not. She opened the closest beer she could find and put the bottle to her lips while she tried to figure out what the fuck she was doing next.

She couldn't lose Rachel, that was for sure. She might have made it sound like she was done, but she fucking wasn't. She wasn't going to let that fucking ballerina snatch away her girlfriend. And if Rachel wouldn't stay away from Amanda? Santana would just have to get Amanda to stay away from Rachel.

**x**

Glee on Monday was certainly interesting. It seemed like Mr. Schuester had about realised that Regionals was this fucking Saturday at that they still had stuff to do before that. Their group number was the shit, and Mercedes was rocking the crap out of her solo. Even Rachel and Finn's _10.000 Nights of Thunder _was alright, though it seemed like there was missing something in the overall picture of their performance. The Latina wanted to tell him that it was because Rachel and Finn had the same level of chemistry as two five-year-olds, but she had a feeling that that comment wouldn't be appreciated, so she shut the fuck up instead.

She was just watching her girlfriend as she tried to pitch her ideas to their team-mates. She wasn't as into it as usually, and Santana was pleased about that, because it meant that she was concerned about what happened between them on Friday, and that it worried her that the Latina had (with great difficulty) ignored her calls for the rest of the weekend. And when Rachel had dropped by, Santana had just hunt out (certainly not _hid_) in her room while Carla talked to the diva and Julita laughed her ass off because Santana was being stupid.

She'd just needed time to think, alright? She sure as fuck didn't want to _lose_ Rachel, so she had to come up with something completely great and badass to make sure that that didn't happen. It had been extremely difficult to think of something that'd work immediately since she didn't have Amanda's number and had no idea where she lived – not great if she wanted to threaten her with bodily harm. Rachel would murder her anyway, but it was a lovely thought. Santana guffawed inwardly and tried to zone back into whatever the fuck it was that Mr. Schuester was saying now.

"-really not working. So I'm suggesting we hold a Nomination Party at my place on Thursday? I know it's a little late, but we're best when we're loose. You all up for that?" he questioned and excitedly clapped his hands together as he smiled brightly at them all.

_What the fuck? _Santana narrowed her eyes and tried to recall whatever it was he'd been going on about. A Nomination Party? Oh! Had he finally seen the light and ditched the Finchel show for Regionals? Santana was very pleased, because no matter how cool Finn had been lately and how much she pretended she didn't want to kick him, she still hated the fact that he was Rachel's ex-boyfriend and would rather he didn't sing with her.

The rest of the group murmured their agreements and Mr. Schuester looked proud of himself with that goofy grin on his face.

The Latina sighed. She fucking didn't want to spend an evening in such close space with all these losers that she calls her friends. It was going to be horrible. _And Mr. Schue and his fucking sweater vests... _she tilted her head to the side._ Don't he own anything else to wear? _

"I'll see you tomorrow after school for another run-through!" he smiled brightly and turned to wipe the board off.

Everybody scrambled to find their things and get home, but Santana wasn't in such a rush... she knew that Rachel probably hated her for not picking up the fucking phone the last two days, but she just needed to – to... to what do you say? Linger around her for a little bit? Just to get her dose of the Berry, because she was in serious shortage of it. She frowned though, when the distinct sound of Rachel's ring tone cut off the little diva as she hummed and packed her pink rolling bag.

"Amanda hello – yes. A slight change of plans, I _won't_ be able to meet up on Thursday... " Rachel brightly greeted as she picked up the phone, and the Latina took this as her cue to get the fuck out of there.

Grabbing her bag from the chair, she strode out of there in a rush and completely ignored the looks that their remaining team-mates sent her way. She didn't miss Rachel's questionable eyes either, but she chose to ignore those. She was fucking _done_ now, alright? No matter what it took, she was going to tell Amanda freaking Adams to stay the fuck away from her girlfriend. The question was just how... she'd wanted to since she laid fucking eyes on her, but the problem was how she did it.

Of course her natural badassness should be able to help her with this, but she hadn't really been using it much lately... she'd been far too caught up in sweet lady kisses with Rachel to really give a damn about anything else. And now – now that she needed to, she had a hard time coming up with something. Had Rachel really made her go that soft? She had to figure something out though, and as she angrily threw her book bag into her locker, she came to a halt when a giant shadow caught her eyes from down the hallway.

Turning slightly on her feet, she closed her locker and thought it over for about ten seconds, before she reached the conclusion that this was a fucking brilliant idea and she better do it right fucking now. Striding down the hallway, she brushed pass the lingering students and came to a halt in front of him-

"Azimio. We need to talk. _Right now._"

His eyes went completely right. "I didn't do it!" he quickly said and backed all the way into the row of lockers behind him. Santana smirked to herself. So her badassness wasn't completely gone. She still had the power to scare these pussies and the fury to rule these halls.

She stuck her nose all the way into his face. "You coming with me to an empty classroom or do I need to kick your ass to get you in there?" she lowly hissed.

The big jock glanced briefly from side to side, but they didn't have much of an audience. He gulped though, and nodded. "I can talk, but Lopez, I didn't do it, I swear, I didn't slushie your girl, Karofsky didn't either, you've made it pretty clear that-"

"This is not about a fucking slushie!" Santana cut him off, before she took a firm grip around his bicep and dragged him with her towards an empty classroom right down the hall. He followed, and although reluctant, he didn't object much, and she kicked the door close behind them as they entered.

"Lopez, what's your deal?" he questioned then, as he sensed that this wasn't really the usual brawl between them, and Santana had got to admit, that he'd been pretty fucking well-behaved lately. None of his baboons had made any crass comments and Rachel hadn't had to change outfits in school for _days_. He must have understood the message. Now... if only his sister would understand it, too.

Santana hammered her hand into the wall and snapped at him, "I'm here, Azimio, to tell you that you need to tell your freaking ballerina sister to stay the fuck away from _my_ Oompa-Loompa!"

The boy looked confused for a second. "Huh?"

_Probably too hard to understand in his small brain. _"Do I need to spell it out for you?" she hissed and took a step closer, "You! You need to tell Amanda to stay away from Rachel!"

Azimio took a step back and an even more confused expression overtook his face, "Amanda? And... Berry? _Rachel Berry_?"

"Yup!" Santana snapped and for a second there, she felt like she could actually talk to this boy and that they had the same interest. It was... slightly frightening, but she decided not to dwell too long on it. "Your fucking sister has been talking up my girlfriend, trying to steal her away from me. I know I'm not interested in that, and I sure as fuck know you're not _either_."

Something completely dark overtook the jock's face then, and before Santana could even question it (or think about what she'd just done), he'd brushed pass her and left the door wide open. Grinning smugly to herself, Santana strolled out of there, completely pleased with how things went down. Sure, it was not as satisfactory as it would have been, had she kicked Amanda's ass, but this was very nice, too. At least she knew that Amanda would be adequately taken care of, and that she wouldn't be visiting Rachel any time soon.

When she came back to her locker, she was surprised to find Brittany and Quinn standing there, the taller blonder wrapped inside the HBIC's comforting arms. The Latina furrowed her brow and stepped closer, placing a soft hand on Brittany's arm. "What's wrong Britt-Britt?" she softly questioned.

Brittany sniffled and Quinn sighed heavily. "She's just sad because you and Rachel are fighting."

Santana froze. "What are you talking about? B, Rach and I are good!"

Quinn rolled her eyes, "Don't deny it, S! Everyone at the party heard you two practically yelling at each other last Friday, and I told B you were going to work it out soon, but when you two weren't sickenly cute together today during Glee, it became pretty evident that you _haven't_ worked this out..." she trailed off, "Which made B sad all over again."

The Latina gently pushed the blonde girl away from Brittany and drew the taller girl into her arms, placing a comforting hand on her back, "Don't worry Britt... we're going to be just fine. Rachel and I are just fighting a little bit right now, but I still love her, okay?"

"I don't want you guys to break up, and I don't want you to be sad all over again, San." Brittany pouted and glanced down at the Latina with dopey red eyes.

Santana's heart broke a little bit for her friend, because she knew how much these things worried Brittany. Especially after they settled their differences and were back on track with their friendship. The other girl just wanted Santana to be happy the way she'd been lately; the Latina knew this. And she knew that people could see a noticeable change in her after she started dating – started loving – Rachel. She could even feel it in herself, even though she was reluctant to admit so, because that'd just make her into one big softie. Brittany still felt slightly guilty about everything Santana had went through at the end of last year, before she found out that Rachel Berry was pretty fucking awesome, and that was why the blonde girl so desperately wanted her to be happy now. Even though these train of thoughts probably appeared a lot different inside Brittany's head.

Santana awkwardly stroked Brittany's hair back and gave her a soft smile, "Like I said, don't worry B, we're going to be fine. I'm working on it, okay? I won't let Rachel get away from me, we're going to New York together, remember?"

Brittany softly nodded.

"So how about we hang out this afternoon instead? You two are not making out with your boyfriends or somethin'?"

Quinn giggled lightly as she tried to lighten the mood; all for the sake of Brittany. "No way! Girl's afternoon again, right B?"

Brittany nodded again and pulled away from Santana, only to link their pinkies together like they used to. "We should go to the mall! I can buy some sexy underwear for Artie, and San – you can buy some for Rach! That'll definitely make her want to still be with you, you look so hot in sexy underwear."

Santana laughed and pulled Quinn in for a quick sideways hug, too, "And what about you, Q? You needin' any sexy underwear soon?" she wriggled her eyebrows as the three cheerleaders made their way down the hallway towards the parking lot.

(She tried not to think too much about Rachel and what she'd just put in motion, but it was still there, in the back of her mind).

Quinn bit her lip, "I'm actually... thinking about it." she whispered.

Brittany squealed and excitedly clapped her hands together, and Santana gave Quinn a soft smile, one that she didn't just pass out to anyone, but this was a big deal, so she went for it, "Really?" she questioned, "You should do it, Q. It won't be as it was with Puck, this'll be different... you love Sam, right?"

The HBIC nodded as a soft blush came up her cheeks, "I do. I really do love him... I think – I think he's my forever." she mumbled, as a hand snuck up to hug the necklace that rested so heavily against her collarbone.

"Then you should definitely do it." Brittany agreed and nodded her head as a matter-of-factly, "Artie's not my forever, we're just having fun right now, and I love him, but! He's not my forever. But you have your forever, and Sannie has Rachel as her forever. And it's so different when you love someone, right San? Like you love Rachel, and I love Artie, kinda, sorta, right?"

Santana chuckled and nodded, "It's true, Q, it'll be _so _different from what you experienced with Puck. It'll be good."

Quinn got a soft look across her face as she seemed to think about if for a second or two. "I think..." she mumbled, as another blush rose up her cheeks, "I think I'm going to do it. After Regionals."

The Latina wrapped her in a tight hug and couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face, "I'm happy for you Q, I really am."

Now... if just she and Rachel could return to being all happy and in love like they were just a few weeks ago? That'd be just dandy.

**x**

It was pretty fucking weird when Santana opened the front door that evening and came face to face with Kurt and Blaine. It's not like they were bad people or anything, and she _had_ been spending an odd amount of time with them since Kurt was Rachel's best diva-friend, but having them stop by her house like this – completely fucking unannounced? It was pretty damn freaky.

But she invited them in anyway, because fuck that, Rachel had taught her a thing or two about good manners.

They sat down in the living room though, because having Kurt and Blaine upstairs in her messy bedroom? It wasn't something she really wanted. Rachel complained about it all the time – what wouldn't Kurt say? He'd probably throw a fit or something, so she kicked Oscar and her mother out of there and threw herself into the big, comfortable chair.

"What can I do for you two?" she asked then, lazily kicking one leg above the other and glancing at them from across the room.

Kurt settled himself more comfortably in his chair and straightened his back. "It has come to our attention through my dearest and darlingest step-brother that you and our favourite diva have yet to make up after the incredibly awkward and uncalled for argument that the two of you had last Friday at Puck's party."

Santana almost choked, "Huh?"

Blaine chuckled, "Why haven't you and Rachel made up yet?"

She rolled her eyes and scowled at them, "What the fuck is it with you two? You're always in my business!"

Kurt dusted off his sequenced jacket. "When it's regarding Rachel, it's most certainly our business. She's my best friend. Once upon a time people may have believed that a certain Mercedes Jones held that spot, however... I have come to realise that Rachel and I have quite a bit in common now that we aren't chasing the same guy. I love her. She's like a sister to me."

"Yeah..." Blaine trailed off, "Rach's pretty great, Santana. And I think that you guys are great _together_. Just not like this."

She bit her lip, "I'm fucking working on it, okay losers? Rachel's being stupid, thinking that Amanda needs help and blah blah blah. I've got it down, okay? She's my girl, and she's gonna stay my girl, whatever the fuck I have to do about it."

Blaine's eyes widened.

Kurt huffed. "I'm glad to see you're so eloquent about your love for her. It's great, Santana."

She rolled her eyes. "Is that seriously why you two douches came all the way over here?"

"Rachel's going to be stubborn, Santana," Kurt said to her then, with a raised eyebrow, "she believes she's doing Amanda a favour... which she is by the way, I've never seen anyone being held back in that closet quite so forcefully, but I believe that it's hurting her relationship with you, and she can't see that." he shook his head to himself. "I know we're going up against you guys at Regionals this Saturday, and you might think I'm saying this to throw you off your track, but it's honestly just because we care about Rachel-"

"-sing her a song." Blaine cut in with a small smile, "Sing to her! She's like Kurt, she lives and breathes music. I won him over with a song, didn't I?"

Kurt blew him a kiss, "Yes you did, Darling."

Santana rolled her eyes at them and pretended to gag. "I fucking already sang her a song, remember? When we first got together!" she sat up straight, "I know music makes her crazy in those tiny skirts, but I highly doubt it'll work again. She's not that stupid."

Kurt chuckled. "It'll work, Santana."

Blaine seemed to agree. "Rachel wants to forgive you for whatever it was you said or did, and she just needs an excuse."

"Yeah alright," Santana mocked them and tilted her head to the side, "the problem is just that I don't think _I_ owe her any form of excuses... she's the one who should apologise to me."

"But she never wi-illl!" Kurt sing-songed and shook his pointer-finger at her.

The Latina licked her lips. "I've got it covered anyway, okay? Amanda's not going to be bothering us anymore, and as soon as she leaves Rachel alone, it'll be like these past ten days never happened."

Blaine cocked an eyebrow and said, "What did you do?"

"Doesn't matter." she cut him off.

Kurt's eyes were wide. "Okay Ms. Santana Lopez. If you say that you've got it covered, I'm inclined to believe you. You have been able to handle our favourite diva before, so why should now be any different?"

She huffed, "Thanks for the vote of confidence, dude."

Kurt smiled at her, the sarcasm entirely lost on him. "You're welcome." he replied, before he stood up from the couch and held out his hand for Blaine to take.

The other guy grabbed it and stood up as well. "This was just it, Santana... I hope you guys work it out, I can't have Rachel bawling into my blazer one more evening."

The Latina slid out of the chair too and followed them into the hallway, "Rachel's been crying?" she softly questioned, and even though she didn't want to, she totally broke a little on the inside at the idea.

Kurt sighed heavily, "Yes. She's been really torn up about this."

Santana gulped loudly and tried not to imagine what Rachel might be feeling right now. She knew that she, herself, was very angry and upset over everything, and she thought that she had a right. But had she been entirely unfair about this – had she been too harsh on her girlfriend by not picking up the phone and just ignoring her? She just wanted to get a message across, Goddamnit, that this shit didn't fly with her! But maybe it hadn't been the best idea... she was going to have to face Rachel tomorrow, and then she was going to _talk_ to her about this... without yelling and without stomping away in fury.

She was going to have to be – gulp – _mature _about it.

_Oh fuck_.

"I trust we will be seeing you on Saturday when we wipe the floor with you guys?" Kurt questioned and did a slight bow as he opened the front door.

The cheerleader snorted, "Oh trust me, we're gonna kick your ass, Hummel."

The male diva shot her a smile and leaned up to kiss her cheek, "We'll see." he said, and as they waved goodbye to her from his car, she couldn't help but think that she was quite lucky to have friends like those. Even if they were annoying as fuck and she'd rather they not spoke to her at all... they did have this way of getting her to realise things she probably should have seen sooner.

Oh well. Tomorrow was going to be okay, because she'd dealt with Amanda. Rachel was going to be really _hers_ again. And if she had to sing another song eventually... she'd do it, Goddamnit.

* * *

_Some of you have been missing badass!Santana and I really have too. So this is me giving her a little leash and she's back in a way. Well. She has to deal with this, right? :b so yeah! And before you start hating on her – yes, that was incredibly evil, and I don't think Amanda deserved it no matter what she'd done, but as I tried to convey with Santana's train of thoughts.. she really didn't think it through. And before you start hating on Rachel as well? All shall be revealed in the next chapter, because she's not just disregarding Santana's feelings completely in this. _

_With that being said, I hope you liked this! I was a bit quicker to update this time, was I not? I hope it wasn't too horrible.. there's not that many chapters left of this story, but good news are, I'm already thinking about another Glee story... it's not Pezberry, but I sure as fuck hope I can bring something into the Faberry community that's not too horrible! And just know that I will most likely be writing Pezberry again at some point, because they're just too hard to resist. _

_Please leave me your thoughts, and I shall try to update soon again so I won't leave you hanging! :) _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or RENT. _


	31. Are You Still My My My Baby?

**Chapter Thirty One **

**Are You Still My My My Baby? **

The plan that Santana had made for the next day? Yeah, it was pretty great, if she said so herself. After kinda-sorta thinking about what she'd done, she realised that maybe going to Azimio hadn't been her best move. So she'd planned on kindly explaining that to her girlfriend and then they'd talk, they would agree to disagree, and be happy again.

Except that plan right there? So did _not_ happen. She'd barely managed to pep-talk herself into entering the lion's cave, when suddenly the lion (here in the sneaky disguise of her girlfriend) suddenly appeared out of nowhere and smacked her so hard across the cheek that her head snapped roughly to the side and the slap sung throughout the entire hallway, causing all chatter to slowly fade away.

Someone snickered from down the hallway and Santana had half a mind not to cup her cheek like some pussy, even though it stung like a bad motherfucker. Instead she just cursed and shot Rachel a hard stare. _What the fuck? _She probably should have expected that.

"What the _heck_ were you thinking?" Rachel hissed, and the Latina swore her eyes were shooting lightings, and she'd never been that mad before. Steam was almost coming out her ears.

Santana winced, "Fuck Rachel! Was that really necessary?"

The little diva huffed; her face was entirely red in anger, and hadn't Santana been on the receiving end of it, she might've thought it was sort of hot. "What could even posses a person to so blatantly disregard another person's feelings like that? Santana, sometimes I swear, I don't _get_ what's going on inside your head! I can honestly say I have no idea what made you think that it would be okay to do that!"

The cheerleader clenched her jaw and stared down at her girlfriend, now thankful for the slight difference in their heights. "You have no idea?" she spat, shrugging her shoulders, "Oh, how about the fact that that girl so absolutely tried to get her mack on with you when she knew you were dating me? What the fuck, Rachel! If you didn't expect me to get mad, then you obviously don't know me at all."

Rachel wetted her lips and continued to glare at her. Santana had no idea what she was thinking, except for the fact that she was really pretty fucking mad right now. "Oh, so this was born out of petty jealousy. That does not suit you, Santana."

Glancing softly to the side, the Latina felt slightly awkward about the audience that they were getting, but if she even suggested they relocate this, Rachel was going to rip her head off, as well. She just didn't fucking appreciate being told off like this in front of the entire student body. "Why are you being so fucking holy, Rachel?" she snapped then, "I heard you yesterday, okay? I heard how she was still calling you, and that you had plans to meet up again! Even after I told you that I just didn't want you to see her anymore. Does our relationship really mean that little to you?"

"No." Rachel quickly snapped, and at least she didn't have to think about it, "No, it does not! Actually, after I left Noah's party on Friday I took some time to think. I was trying to call you the entire weekend, but I have a good feeling you were screening my calls!" she crossed her arms in front of her chest and continued to rant, "I took to heart what you said, Santana. I do want that future in New York with you, and I'm not going to let Amanda ruin that. So I arranged to meet with her on Thursday to explain all of this to her – to, to explain that I cannot under _any circumstance_ continue my friendship with her! That's the reason we were meeting up, because yes, I do care about her, she was my first in a lot of ways, but she could _never _measure up to you."

Pausing completely, Santana stared at her girlfriend with wide eyes. Of all the things she'd expected Rachel to say at this point, this surely hadn't been it. Had she – had she really wanted to end her friendship with Amanda? _For my sake? _Maybe she was right – maybe she did care so much that she'd sacrifice even that friendship. And yet Santana had... she'd completely blown it by doing what she did.

Choking the words out of her throat, Santana forced herself to reply to Rachel, who was just standing there, impatiently tapping her foot against the dirty hallway floor, "Rachel, I-" she had no idea what to say. Her thoughts were one big mess right now.

Shaking her head softly, Rachel took a step back, "You're really unbelievable. That you'd yank someone out of the closet like that after what happened to us... I just don't get the way you think sometimes, I really don't."

Bending her head slightly, Santana forced herself to hold back tears. She wasn't going to cry like some girl, not in the hallway at school. It didn't matter that people were getting bored with the show and that they were continuing on like usual, since nothing exciting was happening. She just wasn't going to cry, not right _now_, for fuck's sake. And since when did Santana motherfucking Lopez cry anyway? This was all so fucking messed up. "Rachel, I... I was just so mad at her for what she did. I didn't think it through. I know it was stupid, but I just did it."

"You had every right to be mad at her." Rachel confirmed then, even though her voice was still very hostile, "A decent person doesn't kiss someone who's already in a happy relationship. I'm mad at her too for not respecting that I love you, but you had no right to out her!" she hissed the last part out and continued with a raised chin. "Do you have any idea what happened to her last night when she returned home?"

Santana couldn't say that she had.

Rachel huffed, "Azimio had told their parents! He'd told them that she was spending time with me again, and you know what happened? They completely _ambushed_ her a soon as she stepped over the threshold! And you want to know what happened afterwards? They threw her out!" she paused and gave Santana a stern glare as her voice fell several octaves to some deep murmur that the Latina didn't hear very often. "They threw her _out_, Santana."

Was she feeling a bit guilty? Per-fucking-haps. "Oh."

"Yes." Rachel continued to snap at her, in that bossy voice she could somehow muster when she got really worked up.

"But weren't you guys trying to find her another place to live anyway?" Santana softly questioned then, as she ran her teeth across her bottom lip and tried to butter Rachel up a little bit by looking at her with a soft expression. It didn't appear to be working that great, though.

Rachel huffed out, "Oh yeah sure! Just because we're trying to figure out where she can go, it's alright for you to get her thrown out!" she snorted. "Fortunately for you she can stay at a friend's house – one of the cheerleaders from Carmel – until my fathers figure out what to do. Daddy has connections and you can bet he's going to be using them!"

Santana didn't really know what to say to that. Was it bad that even though she felt guilty for sort of 'putting' Amanda in this situation, she could only focus on the fact that Hiram and Leroy were _still_ trying to help the other girl out? She knew it totally wasn't fucking okay for her to feel that way, but she couldn't help but feel jealous – somehow. Did that mean that Rachel was still spending time with her too?

The diva opened her mouth to say something about that, but Rachel read her mind before she even managed to utter a word. The diva raised her arms to gently hug herself, "I won't see her anymore, not when she doesn't understand, but you just changed her life around entirely, and now she's going to have to deal with that without me there to help her..." she trailed off and looked up at Santana through her long lashes, "I really can't deal with you when you do such stupid things." she finished in a whisper, before she turned around on her heel and stormed right down the hallway.

Santana swallowed loudly and turned around on the spot, letting her back fall against the locker behind her with a soft thud. She squeezed her eyes tightly together and breathed deeply in. Oh holy fucking hell. That was probably the worst conversation she'd ever been a part of, for fuck's sake! Why the fuck did Amanda have to enter Rachel's life again like that? If the diva had _not_ shown up at cheerleading Regionals, then she would have never met her old friend and things would have been fucking great between them, still. The Latina just wanted them to still be great... was that really too much to ask?

How was she ever going to fix this? Somehow Rachel always managed to turn things around on her. It wasn't intentional, Santana knew that. But how come it always started out with the Latina being mad at her girlfriend for something, and then somehow she was always the one ending up having to apologise? She _knew_ she had to apologise for this. It was all on her. Rachel already said she wouldn't see Amanda – and her actions regarding their conversation on Thursday was proof of that – so Santana just had to make good.

_How_ was she going to make good?

"San?"

Opening her eyes, she found herself staring straight into Brittany's wide and curious blue eyes. The blonde was standing there with a confused expression across her face, her hands tugged into the pockets of her Cheerios jacket.

"Hi Britt-Britt." the Latina replied and pushed herself away from the lockers to stand up straight. She had to figure this out, and she most certainly wouldn't do that if she just stood there and thought about it. Maybe she really should listen to Douche and Douchier about that song again? She inwardly groaned.

Brittany raised a hand gently then and ran a finger across her cheek. Santana hissed at the slight impact and was once more reminded of exactly _how_ angry Rachel was at her. "Your cheek's all red, S! What happened?" she pouted.

Santana knew she probably shouldn't tell Brittany that Rachel had slapped her, but it was better that their blonde friend heard it from her than she saw it on Jacob Ben-Israel's blog when he uploaded a video of it or something. "Rachel slapped me." she said then and tried to play it off like it was no big deal. (Even though it fucking was).

Brittany's big eyes went impossibly wider. "Rachel slapped you?" she whispered, "But... why?"

Linking her arm through Brittany's, Santana started to guide them down the hallway as she explained, "I screwed up this time, B. I mean – I really messed up. So Rachel got very angry with me."

The blonde girl blinked at her, "Are you guys breaking up?" she hoarsely whispered.

Santana quickly shook her head to reassure her friend. "No! No of course not, Britt. I don't want to, and I don't think Rachel does either. At least it doesn't seem like it... I just... I just have to make her happy again. And forgive me!" she explained, trying to make it appear as if it wasn't as big of a deal as it actually was.

"But how are you gonna do that?" Brittany said then, with a thoughtful expression.

_Fuck. I have no idea. _"I... have an idea."

Brittany seemed okay with that as they took their seats next to each other in their shared Spanish class. Quinn's seat on the other side of Santana was still empty, and just as the Latina was about to question their other friend about her whereabouts, the HBIC came rushing into the classroom, book bag slung across one shoulder and her cell phone firmly in her hand. She threw her bag onto her table and placed her cell phone in front of the brunette. Arching an eyebrow, she said, "What the heck, S? This is all over Jacob's blog!"

Bending her head slightly, Santana swiped her finger across the screen and hit the play button, and two seconds later, she watched herself get slapped by Rachel. Even though it stung like a bad motherfucker, she had to admit that Rachel looked fucking epic doing that. "Yeah. I had a feeling he was taping that."

Quinn swiped her cell back into her hand and shot her another look. "Mind explaining that to me?"

"I fucked up." she replied, before she leaned back in her seat to wait for Mr. Schuester, who was – funnily enough – also always late to this class.

Brittany took it upon herself to explain to Quinn then, "Yes, San really screwed up, but she has an idea to make it all good again."

"You didn't cheat on her, did you?" Quinn whispered then, with one eye on Brittany – just to make sure that their other friend didn't hear the conversation they were about to have. It'd just be better if she didn't know all the details.

Santana was appalled though, that Quinn would even think such a thing. Of course she didn't cheat on Rachel. Sure, there were plenty of other very hot fish in the sea, but Rachel was the one she loved, and that made all the difference. "Fuck you, Q, for even asking that." she snapped in a whisper.

Quinn huffed. "I just had to be sure. What did you do then? Come on, tell me, it has to be good. If the tables are suddenly turned with Rachel being mad at _you_ – you must really have fucked it up good!"

The Latina swallowed loudly, "I _might've_... told Azimio that Amanda was hanging out with Rachel again."

The silence from her best friend told her that the blonde was really fucking shocked that she'd even do that. Thinking back at it now, Santana realised that she probably shouldn't have, but... what the fuck! It was too late now, and back then it seemed like a good idea. Except it really wasn't. "Are you being serious right now?" Quinn whispered, and even though Mr. Schuester totally just entered the classroom, this conversation was not being postponed.

"Not one of my finer moments." Santana mumbled through gritted teeth. She hated admitting when she was wrong, but fuck it, this was Quinn and if anyone was going to help her, it'd be her, "Rachel's seriously fucking pissed."

"Understandable." Quinn replied with an arched eyebrow.

Santana leaned slightly to the left so her lips were only centimetres from Quinn's ear, "I just... couldn't stand the thought of losing her."

Quinn tilted her head slightly as Mr. Schuester started going on about irregular verbs or something. "You need to make her forgive you, Santana. As soon as possible. You need to fix this today, because if you don't, it'll just ruin you two."

The Latina knew she was right. The longer she waited until she fixed this, the harder it would be to make things okay between them again. "I don't have an idea." she got through gritted teeth.

Quinn snorted. "Somehow I'm not surprised."

"What am I gonna do?"

Mr. Schuester told them to please keep it down, so Quinn reached for her pencil on the table and flipped her notebook open. Santana gnawed at her lip with her teeth while she impatiently waited for the blonde to scribble down her message. She hoped to fucking God that her friend had some brilliant beyond brilliant idea or something... because fuck that, she really needed someone to help her save her own ass.

_Make nice in glee today. _

Santana resisted to roll her eyes. As if she hadn't figure that one out?

_How? _

_Flowers. Chocolate. A song. And an amazing apology. _

Santana leaned back in her seat and glanced at the blonde girl as she returned to the lesson at hand. It didn't seem like such a bad idea... and the song she could do. She'd even started listing fucking tracks in her head last night after Kurt and Blaine suggested it. And the apology? It was going to be amazing, because fuck that, she would really mean it, which to her, made all the fucking difference.

But the flowers and the chocolate?

The Latina sighed. She was going to have to take a little trip out of town during lunch break and possibly the two periods after that...

_Rachel better fucking forgive me for this! _

**x**

Strolling into the choir room (fucking fourteen minutes late), Santana made a beeline for the little diva who sat on the first row, squeezed in between Artie in his wheelchair and Tina. Mr. Schuester was going on about team-spirit and what kind of pizza they should have on Thursday, and Santana didn't fucking care that she interrupted him in yet another one of his speeches. She just pushed right pass him and dumped the box of chocolates into Rachel's lap, before she held out her hand and presented the dozen red roses to her girlfriend.

She heard Puck snicker somewhere from the back row and reminded herself to fucking kill him later.

Rachel just arched an eyebrow at her and slowly reached to take the flowers from her hand. She didn't say anything, she simply glanced at the roses and smelled them gently, as everyone in the room held their breaths. They'd all (and when she said 'all' she fucking _meant_ them all... like even Brad and Mr. Schue and the dopey kid from the jazz band) read (and most likely seen) what happened between the two girls earlier that day. Quinn had briefed her through text earlier when she and Rachel had been all they talked about before Glee started.

Santana breathed out deeply. "They're for you." she said with a slight shrug and let her arms fall to dangle by her sides.

"Hmm." Rachel just hummed before she dumped the flowers in Artie's lap and grabbed the box of chocolates from her own lap. She glanced at the cover briefly before she held the box out for Santana to take back, "I don't eat dairy, therefore I don't eat chocolates." she simply said.

The Latina felt her insides tighten and willed herself to keep her cool even though the diva's attitude was seriously pissing her off already. "It's vegan." she replied as gently as she possibly could, even though she was positive that everyone inside that room could hear the quiver in her voice. "What, do you think I'm stupid or something? You're my girlfriend, of course I wouldn't buy you dairy."

Rachel hummed again and let the chocolates fall back into her lap before she smiled innocently up at Santana. "Is this your way of saying how incredibly sorry you are?" she wanted to know then.

Santana felt a slight twinge of hope raise in her chest then and gave the other girl a short nod. "Yes?" she queered in a questionable voice.

Rachel scoffed and pushed the box out of her lap with a swipe of her hand. "_Not_. Forgiven." she said then, before she crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat, as the chocolates landed on the floor with a dry thud.

The Latina heard Puck break out a guffaw from the back row and raised her eyes to meet his gaze. "Shut the fuck up, Puckerman!" she hissed at him, before she turned her attention back to Rachel. Kneeling down in front of her super-pissed girlfriend, she placed her hands in her lap and looked up at her, "Rachel... Rachel? Please just listen to me. Will you please let me explain myself?"

"You weren't willing to listen to me _or_ let me explain myself." Rachel simply replied, before she turned her head to the side and looked the other way.

Santana swallowed thickly, "You need to forgive me Rachel, let's just talk about this, okay? I – I love you so much. There's nothing I wouldn't do to make this work again between us."

Lauren coughed, "Whipped!" into her hand, but Santana didn't even bother to acknowledge it.

"Please just let me explain myself?" she said again, and raised a hand to gently tilt Rachel's head back so she was looking at her.

The diva's eyes softened a little bit and she licked her lips quickly. "Fine then." she said as her posterior relaxed a bit. "Talk. The floor's all yours, Santana."

With wide eyes, the Latina glanced briefly around to find all of her team-mates watching her with amused faces. Mercedes was typing rapidly on her cell phone, and the Latina had a feeling that she was keeping Kurt and Blaine up-to-date on what was happening. "What... right now?" she asked her girlfriend, and she had a good feeling that Rachel somehow enjoyed torturing her like this.

Rachel nodded. "Yes, right now Santana." she snapped. "Unless, of course, you're not badass enough to do this in front of our friends. Or of course... maybe you have no idea what to say and you're just trying to smooth-talk me with a bunch of blatant lies."

Quickly slipping onto her feet again, Santana straightened her back. "I know what to say, Rachel! I just don't think it's fucking appropriate to say this in front of all of our friends... I want to discuss all of this with you in private so we can work this out."

Rachel huffed again. "Of course you do."

Santana swallowed once more and let her eyes roam across the faces of her team-mates. She had no idea what her fucking next move was; she couldn't apologise to Rachel in front of all these people, it simply was not happening. Besides, it didn't really have anything to do with them, and she was not getting sappy for no reason. She was _still_ the fierce Latina she always had been! Her eyes settled on Brittany then, who was mouthing something to her, but she had no idea what it was – so her eyes swept to Quinn, who was sitting next to a bewildered Sam, and the blonde girl was wildly motioning something in the air while trying to convey something to the Latina.

It took Santana a few seconds to realise that she wanted her to sing.

She wanted her to sing? _Oh! _Oh yeah, that was the next part of the plan. Quinn had probably placed her looooong playlist of possible songs with the band, so all Santana had to do was sing one of them. She laughed nervously.

"I prepared a song for you, because you're fucking amazing Rachel, and if I ever made you feel otherwise, I'm the most awful girlfriend ever."

Rachel didn't really reply, she just watched her.

_Why the fuck am I always standing here, looking like a giant sob in front of my friends? _Santana wondered as she reached for a microphone. _Why am I always the one who has to apologise to Rachel? Oh... because I love her enough to do it. _Was that completely stupid of her?

She turned around to the band and motioned for them to play the first song on the list, and as soon as the familiar tunes of Pink's _Fucking Perfect _started, Santana took in a deep breath and turned back around to look at her girlfriend, who... did not look amused at all.

She sat up straight, "Oh, Santana, don't _even_ start singing that!"

The Latina lowered her microphone, "What? You want me to sing something else?" she questioned, mentally trying to remember what the next song on the list was. "How about _Could've Had Everything_?"

"No!"

"-_Please Don't Leave Me?_"

"STOP mentioning Pink songs!"

"What the fuck, Rachel!" Santana spat then and angrily placed the microphone back into its stand. "What do you want me to do? I'm really fucking trying here! I made a mistake, and I know it was stupid, but fuck! I just... Let's just work this out, because I fucking love you! Let me sing you a song, I'll apologise, and you'll love me again."

Rachel rolled her eyes and stood up from her seat, "I find it amusing how you think that every time you screw up, all you have to do is sing me a song and everything will be okay again!" she shook her head and angrily pointed a finger into Santana's face. "It worked the first time because I appreciated the gesture and your obvious vulnerability, but don't even think I'll sit here and listen to this! Life doesn't work that way, and frankly, I really hope you figure that out _very _soon." she turned to Mr. Schuester then. "I'm done for today." she hissed, before she grabbed her pink rolling bag and stormed out of the choir room.

Santana felt her shoulders slump down as she refused to look at the other people in the room.

Puck whistled from the back row, "That was brilliant, Lopez."

"Thanks for the show!" Mike added with a teasing laugh.

Mercedes nodded, "Yeah, that was amusing to watch. I feel for you though girl, I do."

Growling from deep within her throat, Santana turned around on her heel and stormed right out of there, too. She had no idea what to do, she really didn't. What was it going to take for Rachel to forgive her for this? It was going to be something out of the ordinary, it was going to be – to be epic! A song just wouldn't do this time around – Santana had to really prove to her girlfriend that she was beyond petty jealousy and that she wouldn't do such stupid things again.

(Not that she was certain she wouldn't, because hell yeah, she was Santana Lopez after all).

As she made her way to her car, determined to go home and figure this shit out, her phone vibrated in her pocket and she glanced down to see that there was a text from Puck. She almost didn't want to read it, thinking that it was just him trying to make fun of her for the show she'd just put on inside the choir room, but she swiped it open anyway, and thank fuck she did.

Puck sure as hell wasn't the most brightest of guys, but he did have his moments. There. On her phone – there was the answer to everything.

_go 2 carmel, find amanda n talk it out. U need 2 apologise 2 HER. rach is gonna luv that. _

**x**

As it turns out, she probably should have changed out of her Cheerios uniform before she decided to enter the campus at Carmel. It wasn't like everyone knew who the Cheerios were there – after all, cheerleading was nothing at this school where Glee was everything. But still, someone knew those familiar colours, and when she'd parked her car and was demanding some dweeb to lead her to the gym so she could find the Camels, a teacher told her that she wasn't allowed to enter, because she was there to 'spy' on them.

As if the Cheerios ever needed to spy on _anyone_? They were the fucking best in the country. When she told this to the teacher, he didn't look too amused, but apparently she'd made her case well enough, because he let her in and told her that he didn't want any funny business.

When she passed the auditorium and could hear the distinct sound of Sunshine Corazon singing some ballad, she almost gave up on the task at hand and decided to go in there and take a peak at what they were doing for Regionals – it was this Saturday, _of course_ they were going to be rehearsing their numbers. But as she placed her hand on the doorknob to the room, she had to stop and think about it.

Really – what was more important? New Directions winning Regionals, or her relationship with Rachel? There was no question about that. But as she turned around on her heel and continued towards the gymnasium, she reminded herself that she probably _shouldn't_ tell Rachel that. The diva would absolutely maim her if she knew that she'd been thisclose to Vocal Adrenaline and _not_ sneaked a peak.

Slipping through the double-doors, she gazed around the giant room to see if she could locate Amanda amongst all of the other girls dressed in the blue and white uniforms. It was easy to find her though – no one was quite as stunningly beautiful as the black ballerina, and when Santana took in a deep breath and stepped towards her, the doors smacked close behind her, and suddenly all attention was on her; the intruder.

The confusion on all of their faces was evident, and hadn't Santana been there to seriously make nice, she would have probably enjoyed it a bit more. As it was though, she was far too concerned about talking to Amanda to really take pleasure in it. She walked slowly across the gym and took a spot in front of said girl, and as she nervously stuck her hands into her pockets, she shot her a little smile.

"Can I talk to to you?" she questioned then and tried to ignore all of the other cheerleaders.

Amanda raised an eyebrow. "You think I wanna talk to you? Are you out of your mind or something?"

Santana knew that she had to keep cool, that she shouldn't lose her shit, because it would only make things worse. "I screwed up, alright? But you're not exactly an innocent party in this!"

"What?" Amanda questioned then and took a step closer to her, "Because I still want Rachel and think she's way too good for you – that you don't deserve her?"

Santana rolled her eyes at her, "A decent person doesn't kiss someone else's girlfriend. Rachel's my girl, alright? The faster you understand that the better."

Amanda snorted, "Is this your way of apologising to me? You really suck at it, you know."

The Latina took in a calming breath and watched the other girl for a few seconds. Amanda looked sort of torn up and her eyes were red – she'd been through a lot yesterday and Santana didn't blame her for looking beat. But she also seemed awfully chipper, and the Latina couldn't help but wonder if she'd really done her a favour... getting her out of that damn household. She would have never been happy there, and though it sucks losing your family, how good of a family is it really, if they can't accept who you love? She bit her lip and said, "I was wrong, I know that. I just got so pissed because I could feel you slipping between us. It's not a nice feeling."

Amanda nodded.

"You had Rachel," Santana continued then, her eyes going soft, "you know that she's a lot to lose."

"She's amazing." Amanda quickly agreed and awkwardly shuffled on her feet, sticking the toe of her white tennis shoe into the floor.

Santana nodded. "She's pissed a me now. Because of you. She really cares about you a lot, Amanda, and I... I just don't like it. I hope you understand that. And I hope you know that I truly am sorry about what I did. I was yanked out of the closet, and – and I should have known that it's not a nice feeling."

The other girl nodded and offered Santana a gentle smile. "I should hate you, but – truth is, you only started the inevitable. I don't appreciate it, but someday it would have happened..." she trailed off and shrugged her shoulders, "Look. You're probably here because you want to be able to tell Rachel that you made an effort. She freaked out when I called her yesterday when I was on the street in front of my house with nowhere to go." she paused briefly, "I had a feeling she was going to give you hell. I'm going to tell her that you were here, because-" her breath hitched in her throat, "because I care about Rachel, and she cares about you. I don't give shit about you being in the doghouse with her, you deserve it, but – I want her to be happy. And she's happy with you."

Santana almost couldn't contain how much she appreciated what the other girl was willing to do for her, even after what she did. It didn't make much sense, but fuck that, she didn't want to question it. It was just evident that Amanda really cared about Rachel. The Latina knew that this wasn't the only thing she had to do to make Rachel forgive her, but at least it was a step on the way there.

"Thank you." she whispered, before she offered Amanda a short wave and turned to leave the gymnasium. She had a pretty good feeling that she was never going to see that girl again. And after this – you know what? It was quite a welcoming change.

* * *

_Yes you read correctly. This was – indeed – an update of Take Me or Leave Me! What a nice surprise, haha ;) oh yeah. I know I suck at regular updates and I deeply apologise. With that being said, I hope you liked this chapter. Quite a bit of things happened, and as you all predicted, Rachel was not pleased with her girlfriend. And a song just won't do this time! And about Amanda? Yes, I did have her do something nice for Santana, but not exactly FOR Santana – it was more for Rachel, because she really cares about her. And when we really care about someone, I've experienced that we're almost willing to do anything. So I hope her motives were clear, there. _

_I love Pink, I seriously do. She's like, the shit. And Santana seems like the sort of person who'd be able to appreciate that kind of music, so there's the reason for her song choices ;b _

_Please leave me your thoughts and I'll try to update soon (like, sooner this time around than before, OK?). _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or RENT, and I certainly do not own Pink's music... _


	32. This Diva Needs Her Stage

**Chapter Thirty Two **

**This Diva Needs Her Stage **

_tiny, please just listen 2 me, won't u? _

x_  
_

_please? _

_x  
_

_rach, can't we just talk about this? i love u n i miss u. _

x_  
_

_rach? _

x_  
_

_rachel? _

x_  
_

Santana worriedly pulled her bottom lip between her two teeth and sunk back in her seat. Why was she torturing herself by scrolling through all the many messages that she'd sent Rachel without ever receiving once single answer? She'd thought that her girlfriend would at least have the decency to reply to her last night. But no, Rachel was – apparently – too pissed to even be polite. Which evidently said a lot about the situation. Santana just wished that they could talk about this. She just wanted to talk about it. Was that really so weird?

There was a knock on the window of her car and she snapped her head to the side to find Quinn smiling down at her. Rolling down the window, she threw her iPhone on the passenger's seat and looked up at her friend, "'Morning."

"Good morning." Quinn replied with a soft smile, even though they both knew that the morning was far from good. They were four days away from Regionals and Rachel was pissed. This had to be fixed.

Santana sighed. "What's the game-plan for today? Please tell me you thought of something."

Quinn arched an eyebrow, "Did you do what Puck told you to?"

The Latina nodded. "Sure did. Amanda was fucking great about it, too. Why does she have to be so sweet? I hate that."

The HBIC shrugged her shoulders. "Sure you do, 'cuz you're a raging bitch." she paused and stepped back to pull the car door open, "Now. Instead of sitting here, you're going to go in there again and try to talk to her." she said.

Slipping out of the car, Santana grabbed her shit before she smacked it close and moved to lock it. "She won't listen to me, Q, you know that."

Quinn seemed to go at this with a lighter approach, and she pulled her arm through Santana's as she lead them towards the front entrance of the school. "Well, maybe you're saying all the wrong things. You apologised and I think she gets that you really mean it. Maybe it's not even that anymore, maybe it's something else."

Santana hadn't really thought about that. She just assumed that Rachel was seriously fucking pissed, which would be understandable. But something else entirely? What the hell could that be? She glanced up at her friend. "Ya' think?"

"Santana, don't get me wrong," Quinn said then and pulled her into a small alcove right beside the giant janitor's closet they'd hid in that morning those weeks ago where everything blew up in her and Rachel's faces. "I'm happy for you – I've never seen you smile as much as you have been after you started dating Rachel, but..." she trailed off and diverted her eyes to something behind Santana's head, which was weird, since she was standing up against a wall.

The Latina furrowed her brow, "But what?"

Quinn swallowed lightly and dared to meet her eyes, "But Sam and I were talking, and... and sometimes it just doesn't seem like Rachel _cares_ as much as you do." she paused, "It seems like you're much more invested in this than she is, which doesn't make much sense to me. I didn't use to think like this before, but lately I've just... I've just noticed that you'll do anything for her, and she's just pissed at you all the time."

Santana glanced down at her friend with a confused feeling rising in her chest. What the fuck was she going on about now? Rachel was invested in their relationship! She was the one who'd kept pushing and pushing about it... sure, she'd been angry a lot lately, but that didn't mean that she didn't love Santana anymore, it just meant that she had a reason to be angry, right? She had been messing up a lot, so it made sense.

But what if... what if Quinn was right, though? What if Rachel really _wasn't_ as into this relationship anymore? Like... all the times that Santana told her to please stop spending time with Amanda, did she listen? Did she do it for her, to make her happy? No. She hadn't done that – she'd completely ignored the request, to be honest.

The Latina could feel this weird sort of thudding start in her chest as she thought it over... could it be _true_? Did Rachel possibly not care as much about her as she used to? Santana never used to doubt the other brunette's feelings for her, they'd always been clear and straight to the point; Rachel was a very honest person. But lately... lately she'd been confused about it, confused about Amanda, and most all of Rachel's actions. What if the other girl really was starting to slip away from her?

Santana gulped. "But... but that's just 'cuz I do fucked up things, Q." she whispered, glancing at her best friend with an uncertain look.

Quinn offered her a soft smile. "Alright, if that's what _you_ think. You know her a lot better than I do, anyway, so you'd know better."

"Rachel loves me." Santana said with a firm voice, and even though she was feeling a bit uncertain at the moment, it was only because Quinn always made her doubt everything about her relationship. It wasn't because she thought it was true. Rachel _loved_ her.

Quinn gave her a soft pad on the shoulder, "Good." she said, before she turned around on her heel and marched right down the hallway.

Santana's eyes followed her blonde hair for as long as it was visible, while she tried not to let Quinn's so-called observations get to her. She wasn't right, was she? Rachel... Rachel still loved her, right? _Of course she does, you moron, Rachel has wanted you since Christmas and loved you for quite a while, too... She would never change around on you, she's going to be there. You're going to New York together, for fuck's sake! _

"San?"

Snapping her attention back into reality, the Latina found Brittany looking at her with questions in her eyes.

"Why are you hiding in here?"

Santana offered Brittany a tiny smile, "No reason, B... just thinking."

The blonde girl happily pulled Santana out of the alcove and linked their pinkies together, "What were you thinking about in there, S?"

"B," she said then, glancing up at her friend, "Rachel loves me, doesn't she?"

The other girl looked confused for a second, but the smile on her face was pure and happy, "Sure she does! Rachel's loved you for a very long time, San, almost longer than anything else! And she always smiles when she's with you, plus, she's not as annoying anymore. I think Rachel loves you more than anyone else in the entire world!"

If Quinn had made her doubt it... Brittany just made her believe it.

**x**

The tension inside the tiny choir room could be cut with a _knife_. Hell, Santana had known that things were bad, but... everyone else was feeling it, too. Even Mr. Schuester was feeling it, and he looked particularly worried. It was Wednesday, for fuck's sake, and Regionals was this Saturday. Santana almost felt bad about it – if things weren't resolved by then, it'd be her and Rachel's fault if they lost. And it worried her – that Rachel wasn't more concerned about the effects their fight would have on their performance. It just showed how pissed she actually was.

She could feel certain people sending her certain glares, and she knew that Tina, Mercedes and Artie were all convinced that it was her fault that they were going to lose. Heck, Mercedes and Tina even ambushed her earlier today and she was told that she better fix things today so they could be ready for the competition.

Thing was... Santana wanted to be ready for the competition. They were not going to lose to Vocal Adrenaline for the second year in a row. Sure, they weren't as great as they were last year due to the fact that they'd exchanged Jesse St. James (Douche Bag) with Sunshine Corazon, but still... Sunshine was a very good singer, and if they didn't pull themselves together, they were going to lose that trophy. And despite the fact that she still needed Rachel to forgive her before they went on that stage, she figured that was the least of their problems... they still hadn't finalized their set-list, and the songs that they had chosen... well, they just weren't show-stopping enough. Rachel and Finn's duet was mediocre at best, and the Latina had a feeling that everybody knew it (even Frankenteen himself) – no one had mind enough to say it, though.

"Talk to her!" Tina hissed then, from the row in front of Santana, "You need to talk to her, Santana. Seriously."

Mike turned half around on his chair and gave her a saying look. "Dude, you and Rachel are like... good for each other..." he trailed off slightly, "And I'm not just saying this 'cuz I wanna win, though I sure do, but... I just want you guys to be together."

"Dude, you're such a girl!" Sam laughed at him from his seat next to Quinn.

Mike rolled his eyes and turned back around, not before placing a soft kiss on Tina's cheek.

Santana agreed with him though. She and Rachel _were_ good together – like epic good. They just needed to remind themselves of that, because things had been so crazy lately. They hadn't really had any time to really be them, and it was exactly what they needed. If Santana could just get her to spend an evening with her; they'd goof off, lie in bed, watch _The L Word_ and... and just be. It'd be like it never really changed at all.

"-_So_!" Mr. Schuester said, finally taking some action, "Since we can't really rehearse as we haven't finalized our set-list, I suggest that we do a few exercises to enhance team unity and trust among all of us!" he excitedly clapped his hands together and pulled out his famous hat. "Now, I want each and everyone of you to write down something on a slip of paper – you're all going to put it in this hat. It'll be anonymous, and I'm going to read it up. It can be something inspirational like 'Good luck on Saturday, everyone!' or it can be something a little more personal like..." he thought it over for a second, "'Watch your giant feet when we dance, Finn!'"

This caused a few people to break into chuckles – even Finn himself.

Mr. Schuester smiled at them all, "You get my drift?"

A joined murmur confirmed their agreement, and their coach handed out slips of paper to everyone. Santana got hers and she just knew that she had to use this opportunity to say something great to Rachel, too. Something that would make the diva forgive her – even if it was just a tiny little bit. She just wasn't sure what she should write on this limited space. She couldn't scribble out something great and heartfelt – there was only room for a few important words. But what the fuck were they going to be?

As Mr. Schuester passed the hat around to collect the notes, Santana bit her lip and wrote the first thing that came into her mind, before she folded the piece of paper and threw it into the hat. She could feel her heart sort of beat roughly against her ribcage – she felt a little nervous – and she knew without a doubt that Rachel was going to know that this message was directed to her.

"Alright," Mr. Schuester said as he shook the hat a little to mess around the notes down there, "I'm going to pick a random one and read it to you all." he placed the hat on the piano and wriggled his eyebrows funnily at them all, before he picked one out. Folding it open, he cleared his throat before he read it aloud, "_You need to fix this, Santana._" his eyes widened as he locked eyes with her, and Santana felt herself squirm in her seat. "Let me just take another one..." he nervously chuckled, as he opened the next piece of paper, "_Santana, this is all your fault. Apologise again." _he swallowed.

Lauren snickered from her seat next to Puck and Santana shot her a glare, because she had a feeling that they had something to do with this. But... looking around at all of her other team-mates, she found most of them avoiding her gaze, and she had a feeling that there were more notes directed at her to come.

Mr. Schuester picked up another on, "_Satan, if we lose Regionals, it'll be YOUR fault'_." he read, before he crumpled the note together and gave them all a certain look. "This is not funny, guys, it's not right for you all to ambush Santana this way. I'd been hoping for a bit more positive notes!"

"Oh, don't worry, Mr. Schue," Quinn said then, in that (fake) angelic voice of hers, "I'm sure there are notes directed at _other people_...down there too." she finished with a soft smile, but her eyes shot lightings... in Rachel's direction.

Their teacher looked slightly worried as he picked up another note, "_I love you so much... Please." _

Santana sunk back in her chair when Rachel turned around in her seat and shot her a soft look. The Latina had been right; the other girl _did_ know that the note was directed to her. She shot her girlfriend a tiny smile and tried not to let it bother her that everyone inside that room had probably figured out that those were her words.

Mr. Schuester continued to read his messages, and after a few more notes directed at Santana and an angry note for Rachel (hehehe, this was Quinn's work, and everybody knew it), he finally picked another one up that wasn't directed at her. "_Rachel... I know you're, like, really mad at San right now, and I understand, I can be super-mad at San, too. But I want you guys to be all sunshine and rainbows again, because you're, like, perfect for each other, and San is so happy when she's with you, like, more happier than when she's with anyone else. Pretty please just forgive her, Rach! Love, Brittany." _

Someone snickered (it was probably Lauren... as always), but Brittany just looked very proud of herself if the smile on her face was any indication at all. And Santana couldn't help but watch the little smile on Rachel's face, because if anyone could get you to do something you're weren't that pleased with... it'd be Brittany.

Even Mr. Schuester had to bite back a chuckle as he said, "Brittany, these were supposed to be anonymous, but thank you for the gesture."

"But it was anonymous." Brittany just smiled, nodding her head a little bit. "I totally wrote it myself, I didn't depend on anyone else, Mr. Schue!" she giggled, "Yeah."

Quinn sighed heavily and Rachel offered Brittany a kind smile, "That was very sweet, Brittany, thank you."

Santana's eyes widened, and she sure as fuck had about enough. The only response she got to 'I love you' was a soft look, and Brittany got a smile and a 'thank you' for that silly note? Shit just wasn't right, okay! Leaning forward in her chair, she shot Rachel a questionable look, "Where's my 'thank you', Tiny?" she questioned, "I always look like such a fucking softie for you, and you can't even talk to me?"

Rachel rolled her eyes and glared at her, "I'll talk to you when you deserve to be talked to, Santana. Can't you understand that I need some time after what you did?"

"What about what you did!" the Latina argued, and her voice rose several octaves, "I always fucking forgive you for everything – even for lying to me about Amanda, and yet you can't even sit down and talk to me like two mature adults?"

Pulling herself out of the chair, Rachel took the floor; crossing her arms in front of her chest and tapping her foot against the floor, she huffed, "_Two mature adults_?" she snickered, "There's nothing adult about your actions, Santana! You're probably the most childish person I know right now."

Santana pushed herself out of her chair, and took the floor as well, "I'm childish? Excuse me Rachel, but you're the one refusing to see reason! All of your friends inside this choir room are counting on you!" she hissed, motioning towards the row of chairs where all of their team-mates sat, "You're our leader and yet you're the reason we're gonna lose this Saturday!"

"We're not going to lose!" Rachel argued back with an absolutely appalled look across her face.

Santana rolled her eyes, "No one can compete with this fucking tension, and it's all because you won't talk to me!"

Rachel turned her head to the side and refused to meet her eyes, "I have a very good reason for not wanting to talk to you, as you very well know." she calmly said, her voice cold and stern.

The Latina swallowed loudly, "Yes. And I've been trying to get you to listen anyway. I even went to talk to Amanda yesterday! Did she tell you that?"

Turning her eyes back to look at her, Rachel's eyes were softer than they had been in a very long time, as she said, "No. No she did not. In fact, I haven't been talking to Mandy at all – I told you that!" she shook her head, "But she did tell my fathers, and Daddy said that you went there to sort things out." she sighed heavily, "Thank you."

Santana felt some sort of relief flow through her, "Can't we just work this out then, Tiny? Please!"

Rachel shook her head again, "No Santana! Don't smooth-talk me, okay! I'm _mad_ at you." she clenched her jaw, "In fact, I'm absolutely furious with you! Don't you understand why I can't handle you when you do things like this? Is it the way it's going to be – everytime I talk to another girl, or – or possibly _boy_?" she huffed, "I can't be in a relationship like that!"

"Well then stop talking to other people like you're single!" Santana argued.

Rachel blew out air – so much, in fact, that her fringe blew up before it hit her forehead again, "Oh please! I'm the one who talks to other people like I'm single? I've never been more taken in my life!" she replied back, coolly, "I'm the one who has to watch you get hit on by boys and girls everywhere we go. I almost _never_ complain about it, but how do you think that makes me feel, Santana?"

"That... that's... different." the cheerleader said then, relaxing her posterior a little bit.

Rachel raised an eyebrow, "Is it? Oh. Because it's you then! There's the difference! You can do anything, and I can do nothing!"

"Stop making this about me," Santana said then, because fuck that, it wasn't about people hitting on her, it had always been like that, no this was about Rachel and the people who hit on _her_. There was all the difference in the world._ Santana Lopez __does not share!_ "it's about you... and Amanda."

Rachel groaned and angrily threw her arms into the air, "Would you stop making this about her! If you can't let that go, I'm going to lose my mind!"

Satana licked her dry lips and continued then, "Well, if you don't want to make this about her, then make it about the fact that you have so many dance lessons, vocal lessons, acting lessons – you name it! ...and you don't even have time for me anymore. When was the last time we did anything, really, Rach, really?"

"I'm working towards my dream, Santana!" the diva argued then, and there was fire in her eyes, "You know that. I need Broadway, and I need to be ready for New York in a year. That's my dream."

The cheerleader rolled her eyes, "I thought you had a new dream! I thought _I_ was a part of your new dream." she shook her head and jutted out of her jaw, "If you continue on like this, you're _only_ going to have Broadway and I won't be there with you. You're pushing me away!"

"Oh I'm not pushing you away," Rachel said them, "you're _pulling_ away yourself..."

Santana swallowed roughly. She didn't get why Rachel couldn't see her side of things, she didn't understand how the other girl could not see what this was doing to them. It was ruining them, it was. And all she was asking for was a little bit of understanding, but she was getting _none_ of that. "All I want is for you to realise that you need to spend time with me. Otherwise, what's the point, Rachel, really?"

The diva snapped, "So you're giving me ultimatums now? You or Broadway?"

Glancing at her, Santana wanted to scream her frustration out. How the _fuck _did she get _that_ out of what she just said? She never once uttered the sentence 'me or Broadway', but of course Rachel would assume something like that. She was always so fucking dramatic, and Santana was seriously having enough of it, now! What was it going to take for her to realise that they needed to sort this out – not continue to argue about it?

"Girls," Mr. Schuester cut in then, and suddenly the Latina was reminded of the fact that they were standing in front of their friends and their teacher; she'd been so consumed in their argument that she'd completely forgotten. "I thought that if I let you talk, things would be resolved, but they're obviously getting worse."

She glanced sheepishly at her team-mates and tried not to let it bother her that they'd just witnessed... _that_.

Rachel said, "Well, obviously, Mr. Schue, because Santana refuses to see reason!"

Santana could not believe she just said that, "What! I refuse to see reason? You're the one who-"

"Girls!" Mr. Schuester cut in again, before they got into another full-blown argument. He placed a hand on Santana's arm, trying to cool her down, "You know the rules inside this room. The best way to express yourself in here is through song. If you want to sing about it-" he took a step back and gestured towards the room, "the floor's all yours."

Rachel angrily grabbed a microphone and said, "Oh, I want to sing about it! I never say no to a performance." she raised a challenging eyebrow at Santana, and if eyes could kill...

The Latina shuddered, "Of course you do." she mumbled, grabbing a microphone herself, "A diva like you always needs her stage." she turned to the band, "And I know just the song."

Rachel huffed, "Oh, you do?"

"Just follow me. You're gonna _looooove_ this." Santana hissed, before she turned around and whispered her choice into the guitar player's ear.

He chuckled nervously, "You got it."

And just as the Latina turned around on the spot, the familiar tunes of _Take Me or Leave Me _from _RENT _started soaring through the small room, and several of their team-mates 'oh'ed when they realised what song they were singing. Even Rachel looked slightly impressed when she realised what song it was. Santana could not have been more proud of herself. Ever since Rachel forced her to watch the film version of this musical (seven times, thank you very much), she'd always thought that Maureen and Joanne... they were a lot like them. And this song was going to prove it.

Giving Rachel a challenging glare, Santana opened her mouth to sing the first part of the song,

_Every single day  
I walk down the street  
I hear people say,  
'Baby's so sweet' _

She sauntered through the room with a certain sa-shay in her step, whilst she made sure to flirt with both Brittany and Puck. She could feel Rachel's eyes burning on the back of her neck, but she didn't care right now. This was the performance of her life; she was going to prove her point, she was going to show Rachel that that were the way things were and there was nothing she could do about it. She was angry with her girlfriend – for not understanding, for not _getting_ it.

And even though these two left each other by the end of this song, they were meant to be, and she felt the same way about herself and Rachel.

Turning around on the spot, she glanced sneakily at Rachel and continued to sing, while making the proper gestures with her hands,

_Ever since puberty  
Everybody stares at me  
Boys - girls  
I can't can't help it baby_

_So be kind  
And don't lose your mind  
Just remember that I'm your baby_

She took a step closer to her girl and stuck her nose all the way into her face; just to get her point across. It didn't matter that other people made passes at her, that – that they flirted with her whenever she and Rachel went out (like that waiter dude did that one time!), because she didn't care. It didn't mean anything, because she only wanted Rachel – and she wanted the other girl to understand that. She wanted her to accept that things were the way they were, and then just live with it. She couldn't change who Santana had always been, even if she wanted to. The Latina just sometimes felt like Rachel did want her to compromise herself, which sure as fuck wasn't going to happen, unless it was on her own time.

_Take me for what I am  
Who I was meant to be  
And if you give a damn  
Take me, baby, or leave me  
Take me, baby, or leave me_

Raising an eyebrow, Rachel licked her lips and took it upon herself to challenge her. Santana didn't know why she'd thought Rachel was going to let her sing all of Maureen's lines – after all, the next one did suit Rachel a lot better than it suited Santana. The brunette singer pushed a finger slightly to her chest and then pointed at herself as she sung,

_A tiger in a cage  
Can never see the sun  
This diva needs her stage_

Cutting in, Santana stole the next line,

_Baby - let's have fun!_

The audience laughed slightly, and Santana laughed as well and moved around Rachel in a tight circle, before she ended in front of her again and placed a light hand on her arm – just to reassure her.

_You are the one I choose  
Folks would __**kill**__ to fill your shoes  
You love the limelight too now, baby_

_So be mine  
And don't waste my time  
Cryin' – 'Oh Honeybear - are you still my my my baby?'_

The cheerleader knew that it wasn't entirely fair to throw that one at her girlfriend, because it was Rachel's insecurities that sometimes (actually most times) made her question whether or not Santana really wanted her. Rachel didn't think she was beautiful enough to be with her, and Santana didn't understand that – she thought that Rachel was the most beautiful girl in the world. And she loved her. That should be enough, but... when Rachel was so insecure, it sometimes made her question Santana, even when there was nothing to question. Which got very tiring in the end.

_Don't you dare! _

Rachel snapped at her, as she shook her head.

Santana loathed that Rachel always felt the need to be reassured that way; to know that she _was_ still the one Santana wanted, and that they were still good. Santana just wished that the diva could see that even though she was the way she was – they were still good.

_Take me for what I am  
Who I was meant to be  
And if you give a damn  
Take me, baby, or leave me_

_No way - can I be what I'm not_  
_But hey - don't you want your girl hot!_  
_Don't fight - don't lose your head_  
_Cause every night - who's in your bed?_

_**Who**__? Who's in your bed? _

She could tell that Rachel was getting slightly annoyed with the way that Santana was putting everything on the line right now; she probably didn't enjoy that all of her friends were watching them, were watching her while all of her insecurities about their relationship were made public like that, but... Santana had a feeling that maybe that was exactly what the other girl needed; just to be reassured that they were good.

If Rachel couldn't deal with the fact that other people wanted to score with her girl, then... then she shouldn't date Santana. She shouldn't date someone as hot as her; Santana knew she was gorgeous, she'd never hid that fact. She just figured that Rachel should enjoy that she had a hot girlfriend instead of fighting it. The Latina sure as fuck knew that she enjoyed that her girlfriend was a hottie.

But... just to be sure that Rachel wasn't too pissed right now, she better make good. So she stuck her lips out, and cheerfully questioned,

_Kiss, Tiny? _

Rachel huffed,

_It won't work!_

Clutching her microphone tighter, she pushed Santana out of the way and strode to take the middle of the floor; centre stage, where she really belonged. And as she moved to out-sing Santana, she shone brighter than ever before; more than when she got pissed at Finn and sang _Gives You Hell_, and there was more emotion in her eyes than when she sang _On My Own_ which was probably her best performance _ever_. She was so angry, so furious, and it was evident in her eyes.

_I look before I leap  
I love margins and discipline  
I make lists in my sleep  
Baby, what's my sin?_

She huffed and shook her head at the cheerleader, while Santana was vaguely aware of the fact that Puck was nodding his head in disagreement, and Mercedes was – well, she wasn't really typing or recording with her phone this time around. She was too absorbed in the performance to even move. And Quinn and Brittany were both watching with wide eyes, while Mr. Schuester looked very pleased with the fact that they were expressing themselves through _song_ and not through argument.

Rachel took a step closer to her and carefully slid her hand up her arm as she sang,

_Never quit - I follow through  
I hate mess - but I __**love **__you  
What to do  
With my impromptu baby? _

And in some way, Santana actually understood right then. Somehow, hearing the words coming out of Rachel's mouth this way, it made her see how conflicted the other girl had actually been. Rachel loved order; she lived for it. She loved her lists, she loved discipline, and she loved responsibility. She couldn't get enough of it. And yet – yet she loved Santana, too. Santana, who was the exact opposite of all that. She was one giant mess, and everywhere she went, she tended to screw up and make things even worse. A lot more than Rachel did. Because even though the diva often didn't get things right either, she kept trying and trying by making up for it, doing what she does best. Lists, pie charts, Power Point presentations...

She hated mess, the Latina knew that – but she also loved _her_.

And as Rachel continued to sing, Finn was cheering her on loudly, and Lauren was whistling.

_So be wise  
'Cuz this girl __**satisfies**__!  
You've got a prize  
So don't compromise  
You're one lucky baby!_

As the music changed to sweep into the chorus again, Santana got ready to shake things up a bit; she remembered this part of the song. It was her absolute favourite because things got so heady you could practically feel the tension through the TV screen.

_Take me for what I am_

Santana butted in,

_-A control freak!_

_Who I was meant to be_

_- A snob, yet over-attentive_

Rachel continued with a huff,

_And if you give a damn_

_- A lovable, droll gleek!_

(Santana heard Brittany giggle at this point).

_Take me, baby, or leave me_

_- And anal retentive!_

Sticking their faces together so they were practically bumping noses, the music sped up slightly, and as they locked their eyes, Santana saw a giant mess of emotions floating through those familiar chocolate pools, and she didn't quite know what to put into it. She was confused, because... because she saw love in there, annoyance too. She saw confusion, anger, desperation. And she just wanted them to be okay again – she just wanted them to be alright.

_That's __**it**__!_

Santana continued to sing as they circled one another, only vaguely aware that their audience was getting slightly freaked out now by the tension between them.

_The straw that breaks my back!_

_I quit!_

Rachel replied,

_Unless you take it back_

They both continued to sing,

_Women_

Then Santana questioned,

_What is it about them?_

And they both answered,

_Can't live -  
With them -  
__Or without them!_

As they pulled away from each other, finally creating some distance between them, their team-mates cheered wildly above the music, and Santana didn't know why, but – but she'd never felt such a rush when performing before. Maybe it was because she really meant it. Sure, when she'd sang _The Boy Is Mine _with Mercedes last year, she'd sort of meant it too, but – but this time, there was nothing more important in the world to her than what she was singing. Maybe this was what Rachel always talked about when she went on about emotion in performances and crap like that. She finally understood a little bit of it, and it felt fucking good.

They continued to circle one another as the song was quickly coming to an end, and she could feel fury right beneath her skin; she could see it on Rachel too, the anger, because certain things had been said throughout the course of this song, and even though it was probably healthy for them to get it out this way, those things also couldn't be taken back now.

It was going to work – or it was going to backfire.

Singing the last chorus in unison, Santana's heart beat rapidly,

_Take me for what I am  
Who I was meant to be  
And if you give a damn  
Take me, baby, or leave me  
Take me, baby,  
Or leave me_

Glaring at each other, Santana could feel her chest heave up and down as she tried to catch her breath. As the music faded out, everyone else was watching them quietly, she could see that Brittany was clutching Artie's hand so hard that it was almost turning blue. Tina was biting her lip, Mr. Schuester's mouth was slightly agape.

_Guess I'm leaving..._

Rachel whispered then, raising a challenging eyebrow, daring her to do something – to stop it. Anything. But when Santana didn't say anything, she turned around on her heel and stormed right out of there, only hissing out the last part of the song,

_I'm gone! _

It took Santana about thirty seconds to storm right out of the other door.

* * *

_Oh yes. I did just do that ;) some of you figured out a LONG time ago that it was all going to come down to this – I've really been on the fence about. I wasn't sure if I should actually incorporate the performance or if I should just let it be. But my love for this song made me do it. I just think that this is the way it should have been on the show. I would have loved to see Lea and Naya pull this one off together! Not that Lea and Amber's version isn't good, because even though I didn't like it at first, it's grown on me for sure. _

_I hope you liked this chapter! I know there was a lot of lyrics, obviously, but I tried to make up for it with a bit of description. Next chapter should get things moving a bit more, and then after that – Regionals! Please tell me what you thought of this ;) _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or RENT. _


	33. I Hate Mess

**Chapter Thirty Three **

**I Hate Mess...**

As the door smacked close behind them, Santana's knee made forceful contact with the back of Mr. Schuester's closet, and she heard Rachel moan as hers undoubtedly did the same. The rough clonk sure as hell made it sound like it.

Turning around with a hiss, Santana banged her flat palms against the closed door, "Let us the fuck out, you morons!" she yelled at them.

She could hear Puck chuckle at the other side of the door. "No way, Lopez."

"Let's lock them in there." Mike then suggested, and before the Latina could do anything, she heard the lock turn.

Pressing her forehead against the wood with a dejected sigh, she could not believe that she was in this situation. Why the fuck was she in this situation?

_Oh yeah...  
_

**Two hours earlier... **

"Alright, now that Santana's here, we can all get started!" Mr. Schuester smiled, as the Latina kicked off her boots and looked around the living room. Everyone was gathered in there, just waiting for her. "Take a seat, Santana." Mr. Schuester smiled, and motioned to the only spare seat in the room – the couch next to Rachel.

Santana fell to the floor with a huff and sat there Indian style. With an innocent smile in Mr. Schuester's direction, she ignored all of her team-mates as they rolled their eyes at her. Well. She – usually – wasn't a childish person, but if Rachel was going to continue to be mad at her, she might as well act like it. Besides, she was getting pretty fucking tired of the diva's attitude, so this was her finally shoving it right back in her face.

The Glee teacher sighed, "Okay. So – welcome to this year's Nomination Party! I trust you're all hungry, I ordered plenty of pizzas as you can see." he said, pointing at the table where several square boxes were stacked, and a delicious smell was drifting from. She hadn't quite realised how hungry she was, but hell yeah, she could eat.

She was about to open her mouth and question him whether or not he remembered to order a vegetarian one, but she clenched her jaw shut and bit her tongue. No way in fucking hell was she asking that.

He continued, "So. We have a few songs that we've already agreed on, like Mercedes' solo and the duet. But the group number's still not completely settled. We're going to have to vote for which one of the songs we've done so far." he readjusted in his chair and reached forward, quickly popping open the first pizza box with a smile, "Please dig in, guys!"

Everybody murmured in agreement, and Finn started passing boxes around until everybody found what they were looking for. Santana grabbed a piece with pineapple and ham, and couldn't help but let her eyes linger at Rachel as the brunette realised that there wasn't a pizza that she could eat. Sighing heavily, Santana got off of the floor and threw her slice on the table. Turning to Mr. Schuester, she shrugged at her teacher, "Can I make Rachel something to eat out of your fridge?" she asked him.

Mr. Schuester's eyes went from the Latina to his best singer, then back to the Latina before he said, "Oh! I'm sorry, I forgot to order a vegetarian one."

Rachel replied, "That's okay, Mr. Schue. If you have some frozen berries and yoghurt, I'll just make a smoothie, if that's okay?" she questioned him, as she tried to wiggle her way pass Finn's giant feet and Puck's guitar.

"Sure!" he quickly said, nodding his head.

Santana turned to offer Rachel a little smile, "I'll just go make it, Tiny. You want blueberries, right?"

The diva gave her a small nod and fell back into her seat with a sigh of relief. She looked tired, Santana noticed, before she turned on her heel and made her way into her teacher's kitchen as if she'd been there a million times before. She quickly sorted through his freezer and found a bag of frozen blueberries, and she then she searched his cupboards for a blender. She chuckled to herself – Rachel always used to make these for them whenever they were together on weekday mornings. She always had this for breakfast, and before Santana got together with her, she usually wouldn't have had anything, curtsey of Sue Sylvester, but Rachel always insisted that breakfast was the most important meal of the day.

So when she'd – for the first time – questioned which berry was Santana's favourite, the Latina had sheepishly kissed her cheek and replied, "Rachel Berry!" before hopping off the barstool to get in the shower.

Rummaging through his fridge, Santana found some yoghurt and poured it into the blender as well, before she hit the power button and leaned against the counter to wait. When someone entered the kitchen behind her, she was almost positive that it would be Rachel coming to help her, thank her, _something_ her – but the ragged breathing quickly told her that it was none of than Frankenteen.

"Santana?" he questioned her.

She really did not have the patience to deal with him tonight, because she was tired. Tired because of lack of sleep, because of the long conversation she had with her mother earlier about why Rachel hadn't been over all week, tired because... because she was simply tired of fighting. She wasn't even sure if they were really fighting about _anything_ anymore – perhaps they were just fighting for the sake of it?

"What do you _want_, Finnept?" she asked him with a sigh as she turned around to meet him.

He'd shut the door behind himself and was standing there, nervously shuffling on his own, giant feet, "I uhm... Santana, I just wanted to say to you that – that I hope you and Rachel figure things out."

She raised an eyebrow at him, "Gee, thanks, Finn!" she sarcastically replied back to him, before she turned back around and cut off the blender. She opened the lid and looked into it, deciding that the smoothie was smooth enough.

He continued to say, "No, I just – I know I wasn't the most supportive, but you guys, you're good for each other, like Tina and Mike, and! And I think that you two are meant to be together."

Turning around with the tall glass in her hand, Santana shot him a questionable look. "Oh yeah? And what gives you that idea?"

He shrugged, "I just know."

"Well here's the thing, Frankenteen, I have tried to talk to Rachel, but she's being childish." Santana told him, before she turned around and poured the smoothie into the glass. She took a short sip of it and decided that it was good enough.

Finn gave her a short nod. "I know, Rachel's always childish. I have an idea though."

She snorted, "You have an idea?" _This is the joke of the year... no seriously. What does he think he can do better than me? _

He gave her a dopey smile. "No worries, Santana. I worked it all out." he stuck his hands deeply into his pockets and continued to say, "It'll be good. Rachel's totally going to hate it at first, but if Mr. Schue agrees with me, she's going to have to."

"...alright?" the Latina made a face. For fuck's sake, why was he telling her this if he wouldn't actually _tell_ her? She clutched the glass tighter and made a beeline for the door, brushing right pass him, determined not to let her mind linger on the inner workings of Finn Hudson's mind. It was frightening territory. She placed the glass down on the table in front of Rachel and resumed her position on the floor.

The girl smiled at her, "Thanks... Santana." she said, before she rose the glass to her lips and took a long sip.

Santana grabbed her pizza slice and munched away on it, while she stared at particularly nothing. Something had shifted between her and Rachel after yesterday's battle in Glee, and she wasn't quite sure if it was for better for worse. In some weird way, she actually believed that it was a good thing, even though there were words said that couldn't be taken back. It just seemed like they'd needed to get it all out, and now they had. Rachel seemed much more relaxed, a bit dejected and worn-out, but better in some weird way. Santana had spent the entire day at home – skipping school with her mother's blessing – and she'd just been relaxing. Her mother wasn't working today, so they'd watched film and girl-talked, and even though her mother had had to drag everything out of her, it was nice to tell it to someone who wasn't a part of their dysfunctional little group.

"Okay then," Mr. Schuester said and threw the crust from his pizza onto an empty pizza box, "now that we're all eating, I think it's time to talk about the songs! Regionals is in two days, and I know if we pick the right number and spend tomorrow going through it – we're going to beat Vocal Adrenaline and get that ticket to New York!"

Artie shot their teacher a grin – no one could quite hide the excitement they all felt whenever it was brought up that Regionals was this close. Even Quinn and Santana herself couldn't contain their grins. "Are you going rap another inspiring song for us, Mr. Schue?" he asked and pushed his glasses onto the bridge of his nose.

Mr. Schuester affectionately padded him across the arm. "No. I'm going to leave the singing to you guys the next couple of days!" he stood up then and pulled the whiteboard – which had until then been placed against the wall – out into the middle of their circle and pulled the lit off the marker. "Alright! Suggestions! Anything we've done this year, but what we did at Sectionals. There are a few songs from last year that'd be good, but we have to keep in mind that we don't have Kurt and Matt, but Sam and Lauren instead."

Mercedes raised her hand, "How about our mash-up of _Singing in the Rain _and _Umbrella? _You know, the one we did with Ms. Holiday!" she nodded her head, "That was tight, you guys, and I could totally picture it as the group-number!" she shot Rachel a little smile, "With Rach and Puck as leads, perhaps?"

Rachel offered another kind smile in return, "It's not quite group-number worthy, Mercedes, to me it seems more like a duet. But I like your thinking though – it was epic enough to get us the title!"

Mr. Schuester wrote down the idea on his whiteboard, just to be fair.

"We could do Britney again," Tina suggested with a shrug, "or something from _Rocky Horror_?"

Sam shook his head, "No, I think that's way too edgy for the judges. We need an _epic_ song! Something that _everybody_ knows."

Quinn nodded in agreement, "Like the song that we sang at Sectionals! _(I've Had) The Time of My Life_ anyone? That's an epic number."

Mike said then, "What about another tribute? Like when we did Journey last year?"

Puck replied, "That way we'd have to change all of our numbers, and I don't think we'd fit the requirements. There has to be a solo, right Mr. Schue?"

Mr. Schuester nodded. "Puck's right, guys. And even if there didn't, we still wouldn't have time to change all three numbers."

Another silence settled in the living room and Santana just let her eyes roam around her team-mates' faces as she chewed away on her pizza. She remembered last year at this time; they were all freaking out because Sue was going to be one of the judges. Everybody was crying, thinking that Glee Club was over – but look at them now. It was a year later, and there they still were, facing the same problems because they were never adequately prepared for anything. But it was what made them _them_. Since when had New Directions ever prepared all their numbers in time? They needed the pressure, they needed to be loose, that was when they were best.

"Maybe it's not even the group number that's the problem." Finn piped up then, "Maybe it's one of the other songs."

"Oh no, you white boy!" Mercedes said, giving Finn a hard glare, "You are not taking my solo away from me and giving it to Rachel!"

Finn quickly raised his hands in defence and said, "I wasn't even gonna do that, calm down Mercedes." he paused and glanced at Santana with a saying look, before his eyes turned to Mr. Schuester, "Maybe it's the duet."

Mr. Schuester shot him a questionable look, and so did a lot of the others – including Rachel.

He continued, "I know we're really close to the competition right now, but last night I started thinking and..." he shrugged his shoulders, "I don't think that Rachel and I should sing together."

"_What_?"

Santana almost couldn't stop herself from laughing right there, because the look on Rachel's face? It was funny as hell. She looked completely mortified at the idea, and Santana knew why... if Finn was taking away her duet, she was going to sway in the background yet again, and they all knew she had a problem with that.

Mr. Schuester scratched his cheek. To be frank, he looked just as confused as Rachel, "Why would you say that, Finn?"

"Rachel and I have always sounded good together," he explained himself, and there were a few nods in agreement from their team-mates, "but there's like, so many other people who'd sound even better with her. Rach is our best singer, but we all know _I'm_ not the greatest singer in the club."

Santana silently agreed with him.

"In fact," he continued with a slight shrug, "there's a lot of other male singers who's sound fantastic with her – like Puck or Sam!"

Quinn licked her lips and offered him a pointed glare, "But isn't it a little too late to change that now?" she questioned – thus saying what everyone else was thinking. Because yeah, Finn was right, but Regionals was in two days, and it wasn't time to experiment with duet-parters they'd never heard before. Sam and Rachel had never once duetted, and it was only occasionally that Mr. Schuester had given the male part to Puck instead of Finn. Hell, just three weeks earlier, there was a startling rendition of _Need You Now _sung by Rachel and Puck, but they'd prepared that themselves one evening when they were hanging out.

Rachel was quick to agree with Quinn, as she snapped at her ex-boyfriend, "Yes it is."

Finn shrugged his shoulders, "We just need to try something different if we wanna win, Mr. Schue." he said with a dopey look in their teacher's direction.

Mr. Schuester was thinking it over then, and Santana couldn't help but study Finn for a few seconds. Maybe he really wasn't as stupid as he always let on. _Some_ things did go on inside that giant head of his. And the most idiotic thing about it? Now Mr. Schuester was actually contemplating it because it came from his absolute favourite – the Golden Boy Finn. Santana had to admit though, that she would be pleased not to have to experience Rachel and Finn's flawless – but not passionate – duet of _10.000 Nights of Thunder_.

"Well okay..." the coach trailed off and stared blankly at the whiteboard where only one suggestion had made it up, "But who did you have in mind to sing with Rachel?"

Finn offered him a dopey grin, "I think her and Santana should sing together."

And just as Rachel blurted out another, "_What_?", Santana heard herself snap, "What the fuck?"

Crossing her arms in front of her chest, Rachel continued, "I am _not_ singing with her!"

Santana felt slightly hurt at this point, but she decided not to let that show, by ignoring her girlfriend completely and looking at Finn with a hard stare. Why would he come up with such a stupid idea two days before Regionals? Sure, before she'd thought that something brilliant was actually going to come out of his empty head, but she was taking that back immediately. _What the fuck was I thinking? _She bit her lip and reached for another piece of pizza.

"I think they'd sound really good together." Brittany chipped in then with a little smile in Santana's direction.

Lauren nodded, "They did yesterday. It was hot."

Mercedes agreed, "It'd give us an edge to have a female duet. It's not something they see often."

"I think it's a good idea." Tina finished, and soon after, the rest of them were all agreeing to Finn's idea and Mr. Schuester looked completely bewildered. Santana had no idea why the fuck everyone was suddenly thinking that Frankenteen's idea was all that, but for some reason... the idea of singing with Rachel in front of all those people? It made her heart bet crazy because she really wanted it. Yesterday had been such a rush...

Mr. Schuester offered them both a kind smile, "Is it something that you'd want, girls?" he questioned.

"_No._"

"Yes."

Rachel's eyes were on fire.

"I think you should really consider this, Rach." Puck said then, as he placed a comforting hand on his fellow Jew's thigh. He gave it a light squeeze.

Rachel just brushed him off, "It's way too late to change the set-list that much now, and besides, what would we sing?" she huffed, "It's not like there's a lot of female duets out there and we don't have time to transpose something for us."

Santana had to admit that she made a good point with that.

Finn broke into a giant grin, "I thought of that, too."

And for the third time that night, Rachel snapped out, "_What_?"

"You did, Finn?" Mr. Schuester asked. And to his defence, he did sound as surprised about that as Santana felt. "What did you have in mind?"

Finn then said, with a slight shrug, "You should sing that song from _RENT. _You know, the one you sang in Glee yesterday – with the two lesbians? It's perfect for you guys, and the judges would really like some Broadway."

And just like that? Finn managed to silence an entire room with a few words. Santana had never thought she'd experience that day. But it was happening, like really, right now, everyone was shutting up because of Finnocence. Lauren was staring at him with wide eyes, while Brittany was simply clapping happily to herself at the idea. Quinn's jaw was practically at the floor and Tina looked very impressed. In the end, Mike gave Finn a pad on the shoulder sand said, "That's a good idea, dude. Let's all vote for it!"

This seemed to get Mr. Schuester out of the slight trance he'd been in and he quickly placed the lid back on his marker and offered them all a grin, "Okay, by a show of hands, how many of you guys think that Rachel and Santana should sing _Take Me or Leave Me_?"

_Everyone_ rose their hands... except Rachel. Santana rolled her eyes at her stubborn girlfriend and made sure to wave her own hand obnoxiously in front of Mr. Schuester's head. Her eyes caught Finn's, and even though she didn't get what brought this on, she couldn't help but mouth a quiet 'thank you' to him. He just blinked at her.

Mr. Schuester turned to Rachel then, "The team has spoken!" he said and shot her a teasing grin, "It's eleven against one, Rachel, and I never thought I'd experience the day where _you_ said _no_ to a performance."

"I never say no to a performance!" Rachel argued and stood up from her seat. She wiggled her way through the masses and took the floor, standing face to face with their teacher, "I love performing, you know that, Mr. Schue. I just think it's stupid to change things around so soon before the big day. Remember, New York is at stake here." she shot him a saying look, "Do we really want to mess with that? I think not."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "You're just saying that because you're too chicken to sing with Santana." she said to Rachel, ready to take up the challenge, "Which is stupid by the way, aren't you meant to be girlfriends?"

Rachel crossed her arms in front of her chest, "I don't know what we're meant to be anymore. In fact, Santana's behaviour has been very confusing to me."

Pulling herself off of the floor, Santana grabbed her girlfriend's bicep and forced her to look at her, "Would you stop doing that!" she hissed, and her tone of voice really caught Rachel by surprise – that was evident, "You're being utterly ridiculous and childish, Rachel, and I'm tired of it."

The singer turned her head away and refused to meet her eyes.

"I think Santana should just break up with you." Quinn offered, and there was a gasp from someone (she wasn't quite sure, but it sounded like Mercedes). "Yeah, I went there." the blonde continued when Rachel glared at her, "She's doing everything for you, and what does she get in return? Literally _nothing_!"

Santana felt her hand drop from Rachel's arm. She could feel her face heat up in some way, because Quinn was hitting all the right spots. She had been angry and confused when Quinn suggested this yesterday, but as she'd been thinking more about it... maybe it really was just time to break things off with Rachel. Obviously they weren't working, and she was tired of fighting so much for it, when Rachel seemed like she didn't care at all. She'd really been looking forward to that future in New York, but maybe they were just too different.

Gasping slightly, Rachel's head snapped to the side and she looked at Santana with wide eyes. "Is that... is that really how you feel? That I don't give you anything in return?"

Shuffling awkwardly on her feet, Santana had never been more uncomfortable in her entire life. The way that everyone was watching them was so different this time around; they were used to their arguing and how things sometimes blew up for them, but this was... this was different. This was more serious, and there were a lot of feelings involved. "I – I don't know, Rach..." she trailed off and lifted her head to meet her girlfriend's heated gaze, "I feel like you don't really love me anymore. I feel like, maybe we're just too different."

Rachel swallowed loudly, "So you... you _want_ to break up – like Quinn said?" she whispered, awkwardly raising her arms to hug herself gently; she looked vulnerable right there. In a pair of sweatpants that were way too big for her, and Noah's letterman jacket. She was beautiful, though.

"I don't know," Santana shrugged, and she hated the words that came across her lips, because she would have like to say 'no fucking way' which was really the way she felt, but with the way that things had been lately... it would probably be better. "but this doesn't really feel like a relationship that's going anywhere."

Rachel furrowed her brow. "Alright," she said, and it was evident that the tears were just about to start falling, "if that's how you feel, maybe we really should break up."

The Latina could practically feel her heart break into a million pieces then. The hurt inside her chest – it was unbearable. Everywhere on her body, shivers erupted on her skin, and she could feel hot tears burning in her eyes. "Maybe – maybe we should." she choked out, before she turned her head to the side and quickly brushed away her tears.

Rachel was breathing unsteadily from her place next to her, and when Santana raised her eyes and finally looked at their friends again, she couldn't quite grasp the different looks they were all sending her. Brittany was crying too, and Quinn just looked... shocked, that it would have even come to this. Finn looked furious, and so did Mercedes – she was glaring at her.

Puck stood up then, and angrily found a spot between the two girls. He grabbed Santana roughly by the arm and pulled her closer, and she heard Rachel yelp when he did the same to her. "That's it!" he hissed, and he sounded seriously pissed, "You guys! You need to _stop_ fighting." he said, and looked harshly at Santana, before he turned his eyes to his best friend, "You guys are perfect for each other, I've never seen either of you as happy as you've been since you got together. And look at the club!" he spat, "We've never been more united, and it's all because of you two. We wouldn't be here today if you hadn't been together and forced us to behave like real team-mates."

"No," Sam said then, shaking his head, "not team-mates... real _friends_."

Things were seriously getting nauseatingly sweet by now, and hadn't Santana been slightly choked up due to the fact that she'd just lost her girlfriend, she would probably have told them off and pretended to gag or something. But she was slightly more focused on the heart-breaking that was going on inside her chest.

Rachel whispered, "Well, if Santana doesn't think it's working, then there's not much I can do about that, is there?"

The Latina ripped her arm out of Puck's grasp and turned to glare at the diva, "Well, I want it to work! You're the one who's making things extremely difficult. Do you think I like being without you? No! It fucking sucks, Rachel!"

"You two need to talk this out." Mercedes said then, "And I mean right now. You need to fix things, because if this costs us Regionals, I'm not going to be happy."

Santana spat at her, "You can't force us to talk, Wheezy."

Mercedes huffed and sat back down.

"Mike," Puck ordered then and snapped his fingers towards Rachel, "you grab her and I'll take Santana."

Santana turned to him, "What the fuck do you mean 'take'-?" she hissed out, but she didn't get further with her question, because he'd swept her off her feet and onto his back in a firm lock. Staring down from up there, she saw Mike grin sheepishly at Rachel before he had her in the same position. "Put me down you fucking idiot!" Santana hissed at him and smacked his back with her closed fists.

Puck laughed, "No way, Lopez... and stop that. I forgot how feisty you are! I bet the make-up sex between you and Rach will be hot."

Rachel huffed from her spot on Mike's shoulder, "You bet on nothing of the sort, Noah. And Michael, if you'd please be kind enough to put me down again? That would be appreciated, thank you."

Mike chuckled. "What do we do with them, Puck?"

"We're gonna put them in Mr. Schue's closet so they can talk." the Jewish boy explained, and just liked that, Santana felt herself being carried into the hallway where Mr. Schuester's giant closet (really fucking Narnia-esque) was. Puck pulled the door open and gave her butt a light pad. "You ready, Satan?"

"Puck, I swear to fucking God, that if you put me in that damn closet, you're going to regret it! I'm going to fucking rip off your balls, and kick your ass down to hell!" the Latina rattled off, and the fire inside her chest, the anger, it had almost completely pushed away all feelings of heartbreak. She was seriously fucking pissed right now.

Rachel was taking a much kinder approach, "Noah, would you please reconsider this? You don't know what's inside that closet and it could be infected! There might be diseases in there. It would ruin our voices and _then_ what chances do we have at Regionals?"

Puck chuckled, "Mike, throw her in there, will you?"

And just like that, Santana felt herself slipping off Puck's shoulder and right into that damn closet.

**Present time... **

"Stop banging on the door, will you?" Rachel hissed from somewhere below her, and the Latina glared in the general direction, "They're obviously not going to let us out of here."

She rolled her eyes, "Well, isn't this just _nice_! I'm stuck in a damn closet with my ex-girlfriend. Could this night get any fucking better?" she sighed heavily and pressed her back against the wall. Sliding down to sit, she could feel her feet meeting Rachel's, and even though things were awkward, it was nice to finally be touching her – just a little bit.

Rachel was silent, and Santana wished that she could see her face. Her cell phone was in the pocket of her coat and there was literally no light streaming through the cracks. Everything was pitch black. She leaned her head back and sighed heavily. How the fuck did her life turn out like this? Just a few weeks ago, her life was the shit – she couldn't have been happier. And now... everything was just one big mess. A mess she'd created, albeit not by herself.

She felt her chest tighten when she heard Rachel sniffling from the other side of the closet.

"Tiny..." she whispered, pulling her head up again. Her voice sounded hoarse in her own ears, but it didn't matter, "Are you crying?"

"_No_." Rachel replied, but it was pretty fucking evident that she was.

Before Santana knew what she was doing, she was on all fours and crawling gently across the floor to the other girl's side. She found herself squeezing her way down next to her, trapping herself delightfully between the closet door and Rachel's body, and warm fingers sought hers out, and she clenched them tightly. "Why are you crying?"

"Do you really mean that?" Rachel whispered, and her breath was hot against Santana's cheek.

The Latina was confused, "Do I mean what?"

Swallowing loudly, the other girl said, "'Ex-girlfriend'?"

The cheerleader swallowed loudly and turned her head slightly to the side, so their noses were almost brushing, and their breaths were mingling in the small space between them, "I... I don't want to mean it. But – with the way that things have been, I don't see how this could work."

"I don't get it." Rachel replied, and the sadness was seeping out of every word, "I don't get what it is that I do wrong. Everyone I've been with has always left me. Always."

"I don't wanna leave you." Santana quickly replied and squeezed her hand for good measure. "I... love you, Tiny. I thought I was your forever. I was meant to be the love of your life."

The singer's breathing was shallow, "You are..."

"Then _I _don't get it." the Latina honestly replied, and it felt good to talk about this – like really talk. She realised, what they'd been doing before, it wasn't talking, it was arguing, and refusing to listen. This, this was honest and open, and exactly what they needed. "It's just because... Rachel, to me it just seems like you don't even love me anymore."

The diva breathed out deeply as she whispered, "How can you even think that, Santana? I love you with all my heart."

The cheerleader shrugged her shoulders, quite awkwardly in the small closet, mind you, but she did it nonetheless, "I feel like you're not really as into me as I am to you. I – I love you so much, and I know I screw up, but I really try to show you as often as I can..." she trailed off, and she could feel Rachel nod her head next to her, "Sometimes I just don't feel like I get something back. I mean... You _lied_ to me about Amanda, and I know it's nothing compared to what I did, but because I love you, I forgave you. I've been in the doghouse since Monday, and I'm sorry I did what I did, but I only did it because I love you... do you even love me anymore?"

She felt herself breathe out freely as a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders. She never used to talk about her feelings like this, and she remembered Rachel always joking that she had to drag it out of her. But – but this time... she did it for herself, and it_ felt_ good. Like she was somehow better after she said it, like it was meant to be out in the open this way. Why hadn't she just tried to tell her this before... it felt... she felt... relief.

A warm hand brushed against her cheek and she tilted her head to the side, relishing in the familiar touch, "Of course I do..." the brunette whispered, "I love you... like I've never loved anyone else."

Santana felt her heart beat wildly, like it was somehow trying to mend itself again.

"And I'm sorry," Rachel continued with a firm whisper, "if it seemed like I don't. If it seemed like I was pulling away from you. But you have to understand... I don't have the best track-record with relationships. After the first stage where everything's wonderful, I tend to get too clingy, which ultimately pushes my partner away." she paused and dropped her hand into Santana's lap, "I didn't want that to happen with you, so I was trying to give you space by spending time apart."

The Latina felt a small smile find the way onto her face, "Time apart is good..." she whispered, "But I really just wanna be with you."

Rachel let out a throaty chuckle and somehow, their fingers intertwined at it was like they'd always been like this, "I'm sorry about everything else... about Amanda and Azimio and all that other stuff."

"Don't." Santana quickly said then, shaking her head, "Don't say anything. We were both stupid – well, maybe you more than me, but..." she chuckled when she heard Rachel's indignant huff, "we both made mistakes. And we're both stubborn."

Rachel giggled at that, "We're both very stubborn!"

Santana finished, "Yes, and... at this point, I don't even get why we're still fighting. Why are we still arguing over this, wasting all this time? Does it ever matter anymore? Can't we just..." she trailed off and lifted their joined hands to press a kiss against the backside of Rachel's, "Can't we just be in love again?"

Rachel let out another chuckle, and this time it was full of tears, "I'd really like that." she mumbled, before she shifted slightly, and suddenly pressed her lips against Santana's for the first time in what felt like forever. It was only brief, but it was everything that the Latina had missed, and when she pulled back, she kept their foreheads pressed together and their noses brushing.

"I'm always going to be there for you." Rachel promised, "No more silliness."

"And I'll be there for you," Santana agreed, with a chuckle, "even when you watch _Pretty Little Liars _and obsess over Shay Mitchell!"

Rachel chuckled, "I have a thing for Latinas, and so what?"

Santana brushed her hair away and sighed, "I love you."

"I love you too." the diva whispered, and their lips met in yet another kiss – this time longer and much more passionate. It had really been too fucking long since she'd kissed Rachel. She'd missed her, like... really fucking missed her. She opened her mouth slightly and tilted her head just right, so their tongues could brush gently. Her fingers trailed through Rachel's hair and the diva sighed happily against her lips. Everything was vibrating.

"Guys!" they suddenly heard Brittany yell from the other side of the door, which caused them to break apart with ragged breaths, "Guys! They made up! They're kissing in your closet, Mr. Schue!" the blonde girl yelled through the apartment as she left the hallway and her happy cheers got lower.

Rachel giggled. "I think we really had our friends worried there."

Santana nodded, "Yeah, I think we really had. Hell, we had _me_ worried there."

There was a knock on the door. "Guys?"

_Mr. Schue. _

"Can you let us out now, Mr. Schuester?" Rachel questioned, "It smells funny in here."

Mr. Schuester was reluctant to answer, "Guys... guys, I have some bad news. Finn was trying to hide the key from Brittany so she wouldn't just let you out, only now that she _can_ let you out..." he trailed off, "He can't remember where he hid it."

"Fuck that!" Santana hissed. "Stupid Finn fucking Hudson!"

Mr. Schuester did sound apologetic about it, "We're searching the entire apartment, we'll let you out soon, just... stay put." he mumbled, before they heard him walk away.

"'Stay put'?" Santana repeated, "Where the fuck would we go!"

Rachel let out a long string of giggles, "Well..." she replied then and moved over, gently straddling the Latina, "If we're stuck in here for awhile... We might as well spend the time wisely." she whispered, before she pressed her lips against the cheerleader's neck.

_Oh... _Santana breathed out heavily. "I've really fucking missed you, Tiny."

* * *

_Oh fuck yeah! You see how fast I updated this time? That's some serious writing for you guys ;) Oh! The response to the last chapter was extremely great to read – some of you loved it, some of you hated it; as I had predicted. Which was why I was so reluctant to use the actual song, but in the end I went for it. Which is good, 'cuz MOST of you seemed to like it. _

_I hope you enjoyed this chapter, too! I do realise that their fight had been dragged out a long time – which was sort of the point. We were really at a place where it didn't matter much anymore, because they were just being stubborn and silly about it. Oh. And I've really had the scene where Finn suggest they sing together written for like... three months. It was sort of weird to finally be able to put it into a chapter and edit it so it fitted. But there's two chapters left now, and next stop: Regionals. _

_It'll probably be a while before I update, because as of tomorrow begins the working week of hell. I seriously have like a gazillion hours, which is stupid, since I had literally NO hours from the start of last week until tomorrow. Couldn't they have sorted it out over a few weeks instead of putting them all into ONE? Anyway. I will try to write, but it's going to be difficult. _

_Thanks for reading and I'd love to hear your thoughts :) _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or RENT. Or any of the other songs I mentioned in this chapter. _


	34. But I Love You

**Chapter Thirty Four **

**...But I Love You**

She could not stop herself from touching the other girl, running her hands across smooth legs and soft hair. She couldn't help but leave small pecks everywhere her lips could reach and just breathe in the distinct smell of her coconut shampoo. She'd really feared that she wasn't going to be able to do this again, she had really been scared for it, and now that she had it back... she was going to appreciate it even more than she had before.

Everything about Rachel was just so... so fucking amazing. There was nothing about her that Santana didn't like. Even all of those stupid things, they were amazing too. It sounded all mushy and shit, but fuck that, it was how she felt. Not that you, you know, should hold it against her. Or somethin'.

It was just so fucking nice to be able to do it again. And they weren't even fucking, they were just lying there, touching each other, sharing small kisses. (They'd already fucked because well, don't get her wrong, she loved getting sappy with Rachel, but she was a woman... and she had needs). Rachel was loving this though – she seemed so, _so_... contend.

"Baby..." she murmured, pressing a dozen of kisses to Santana's jaw.

The Latina turned her eyes down to meet the diva's chocolate pools, and she couldn't help but beam when she saw just how full of love and care they were. "Yeah?" she hoarsely replied. There was something thickening in the air, and it wasn't just love.

Rachel shifted slightly and so did the atmosphere. "There's a few things we should talk about." she whispered, gently sliding her fingers through the cheerleader's hair. "It's not – it's not something bad per say, just... we need to talk about this." she bashfully lowered her head and stared at nothing for a second, before their eyes met again, "I know we said to just forget it, and – and I was ready to do so, but then I realised that I'd be compromising myself if I didn't tell you everything that I feel."

Santana felt something awful clench in her chest as she nodded. She didn't particularly want to do all of these things, because she felt like her and Rachel would just argue again if they brought it up. But she also knew that Rachel was a talker... everything had to be discussed and sorted out properly, otherwise the diva wouldn't feel good. And even though they'd been great today at school, holding hands and sharing kiss in Glee Club between rehearsals for _Take Me Or Leave Me _(which they were fucking killing, by the way), she could also see that something was troubling Rachel.

She knew her too well, and she knew that she had to pull it together and sit through this one.

Licking her lips, she softly replied, "You can tell me everything, Tiny. I won't get angry, I promise, I'll – I'll listen to everything that you say to me."

"I love you." Rachel quickly breathed out, her eyes shimmering.

Santana pressed a short kiss to the diva's lips, "I love you too. Now," she awkwardly untangled herself from the other girl and put some space between them on Rachel's bed, just because she had at feeling that this conversation would be better had if they weren't locked up in an embrace, "talk, Tiny."

Rachel situated herself better on the bed and folded her legs so she was sitting Indian-style. "Santana, I love you. I know you know that." she smiled as the Latina gave a short nod, "And we agreed yesterday when we made up that we should just forget everything, that there was no reason for this fight at all, and that's _good_," she confirmed, nodding to herself, "except... except there _is_."

The Latina swallowed loudly and tried not to show how uncomfortable she was already getting with this conversation. She was not good with feelings... and honesty... and being open. And fuck that, they'd gone through this yesterday, did they really have to do it again? "Azimio and... Amanda?" she questioned.

The diva bit her lip gently and shook her head, "In a way, no... Azimio and Amanda were the reason we started fighting, but they weren't the issues. The issues were there all along, it just took Azimio and Amanda to get them out in the open."

Santana furrowed her brow. That wasn't … confusing at all. She blinked, "Huh? I don't get it, Rach."

"Santana you're sort of..." she trailed off slightly and drew in a shaky breath as she searched for the right words, daring herself to say them aloud, "...jealous."

Leaning slightly over, the cheerleader gaped at her girlfriend in confusion. Huh? What the frigging frack? "What... do you mean? I'm not jealous!" _I'm just fucking possessive, because no one can touch what's mine! _Really? Jealous? No fucking way!

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Really Santana, because all of this happened because you're jealous."

The Latina huffed, "Well that's because some girl started macking on you! You'd be jealous too, if I started kissing Brittany again!"

"I've been fairly accommodating with you regarding your relationship with Brittany, to be honest," Rachel quickly said, as a matter-of-fact, "I've never once questioned it when you spend time alone with her, not once, Santana, because I trust you. Yet you completely blew up on me the first time I was with Amanda. And let me remind you, I haven't been _intimate_ with her the same way you have with Brittany."

Santana swallowed loudly, "That's... that's two completely different situations. You can't even compare those, Rachel, you just can't."

Rachel raised both eyebrows and shot her a disapproving glare, "How is my situation with Amanda any different from your situation with Brittany?"

The Latina sighed. How could she not see how different those two situations were? They were wildly different! Like, there were so many possibilities of differences that Santana didn't even want to _begin_ to start listening them all! "It's _so_ different, Tiny. And the most obvious one is that.. that _you_ know Brittany. She's your friend, so there, that's that."

"You could have known Amanda too." Rachel simply replied, "If you would have given her a chance."

"Like I'm going to befriend a girl who wants to fuck my girlfriend? I think not." the cheerleader answered.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "You're incorrigible, Santana, and you don't get it." she whispered, reaching a hand across the bed to grab the Latina's, who – reluctantly – let her, "If you can't see why your possessive jealousy is – and will undoubtedly become in the future – an issue in this relationship, then I can't work with you. We're going to have these fights over and over again if you don't get it."

Santana clenched her jaw, "Only if you keep making a big deal out of it! I _love_ you Rachel, why is it wrong that I don't want someone else to get between us?"

"Because it's too _extreme,_ and you have to see that." Rachel said, and there was fire in her eyes.

The Latina sighed heavily. "I don't want to fight, Rachel, please, let's just not fight about this. We just made up and there's Regionals tomorrow, and I – I can't fight with you anymore."

Rachel sighed; she seemed defeated in Santana's eyes, and the Latina was sad to see her girlfriend upset, but she really couldn't deal with this argument once more. There were more important things to worry about, and having the same fight over and over was just plain stupid. If they just forgot about it, they could pretend it never happened, and eventually it wouldn't even matter anymore. The singer said, with a pointed glare, "This isn't a fight, we're merely having a discussion."

Santana glared right back, "Then let's not have this discussion. Let's just enjoy each other and go to bed, so we're ready for tomorrow. We have to get up early."

The diva seemed to think about that for a moment or two, Santana could see all the wheels turning inside her head. It was always quite amusing to watch her get really into it when she needed to ponder something a lot. This though, it wasn't that amusing, because Santana just wanted her to let it be. "Alright." Rachel said then and reached over, pulling her closer by the hand, "Come lie down with me and let's just worry about beating The Warbles and Vocal Adrenaline tomorrow."

Santana breathed out deeply as the two got comfortable in Rachel's bed. She snuggled up next to her girlfriend, her nose buried inside the crook of her neck as they rested against each other. She closed her eyes tightly and heard Rachel breathe out deeply too.

She couldn't help but wonder about the things her girlfriend had just said to her. Was it true? Was she really too... too jealous? But she _wasn't_. At least it didn't feel like she was. It felt like she was just being the girlfriend that she knew most people wanted; supportive, happy, in love. She wanted to spend as much time with Rachel as possible – and wasn't that what relationships were supposed to be like? She wasn't sure, she'd never really had one before. But she felt like this was the right way to go – she just wanted to _be_ with Rachel all the time. Was there something so wrong with that?

And of course she didn't want Amanda near her – it was quite evident that the other girl only wanted to hang with Rachel because she had one thing in mind. And she could tell Rachel that, couldn't she? They were girlfriends, she felt like she should be able to say to her that she just wasn't fucking cool with them hanging out. It wasn't like she'd said to Rachel that there were other people she couldn't hang out with, only Amanda. Well... except Puck sometimes. But that was only sometimes. And Finn of course, because he was a giant douche so that was a given. Like, really, she wasn't _that_ bad.

_Except, really... I am. _Santana thought to herself as she untangled herself slightly from Rachel's grip in a vain attempt to pretend to sleep. She heard her girlfriend shift, too. _Have I actually told her so many times that I didn't want her to hang out with other people? How is she still with me when I've been this... this possessive? _

The Latina wanted nothing more than to squeeze her girlfriend tight again, but she couldn't, not now. Not when she was on the verge of realising this giant thing about herself; something that'd change her for good.

She felt Rachel press a gentle kiss to her cheek, "Are you asleep, Baby?" she whispered.

Santana made sure to breathe out properly. She didn't want to talk, not right now, so feigning sleep was the only way to go.

"I love you." Rachel whispered, before she slid out of bed. Santana's eyes were closed, naturally, so she could only hear Rachel pad across the room to her bathroom and shut the door gently. Just then the Latina opened her eyes, and she saw the faint light streaming out from under the door, and when Rachel greeted Kurt in a low murmur, she wasn't even that surprised.

She couldn't hear what her girlfriend was talking to her best friend about, but she had a vain idea that it _might_ be her. She wanted to know what the fuck was going on, but... _It's really not my business. _Santana turned over on the other side and got more comfortable with her head on the pillow. _She's allowed to have secrets with her best friend. It's not like it's … Amanda or someone else. _

But even if it was, wouldn't that be okay?

Santana squeezed her eyes tightly shut to keep the tears from falling. _Yes, it fucking would! You have to deal with this Santana. She's … she's right. You have to get over it. _

**x**

The atmosphere inside their dressing room was tense with excitement and nerves. Their team of twelve students and Mr. Schuester was gathered inside there, changing and doing warm-ups. Rachel was furiously working everyone to the bone at this point; there were still a few notes that didn't flow so well together and when Tina continuously went sharp at the same place three times in a row, she looked about ready to murder someone.

Mr. Schuester seemed very pleased with everything though. They had their set-list and it was good. Santana was pleased too. She was going to be one of the main singers this time around as well, and it was even better than when she sang at Sectionals because this time she'd be singing with Rachel. They'd decided to keep the small lyrical changes in the song for this performance, because Mr. Schuester said that it gave them more fire because the words were so true. The Latina just wondered if the judges were going to view it the same way.

"We're going to win today." Quinn said, and gave Santana's back a small pat. "We _have _to win. And Vocal Adrenaline aren't even that great. Sunshine Corazon is not as good as Jesse St. James."

Santana offered the blonde girl a small smile and nodded her head. From what she'd heard through the speakers, she had to agree with Quinn. And she loved her for knowing that Santana's nerves were peaking and that she just needed to be reassured. "Thanks Q." she said then, "For, you know, _everything_..."

Quinn's smile had never been more sincere, "Yeah, we're friends again, S, finally. And I'm sorry my little push almost backfired the other day. I never thought you guys would actually break up..." she trailed off and shrugged her shoulders, "Thankfully it all worked out and you're still together."

The Latina chuckled, "Yeah, thankfully."

"We _have_ to win tonight." Quinn repeated as her eyes gazed over all of their friends, who were busy goofing off, singing, changing...

"Because of New York?" Santana questioned as her eyes settled on Rachel who was trying to wrap her small arms around Puck's stomach, mumbling something about air and diaphragms. She chuckled.

Quinn leaned in closer and there was a hint of red in her cheeks as she said, "No... I – I made a deal with myself," she whispered, "we know Puck's going to throw a party no matter if we win or lose, but... I told myself that if we do win – I'm going to ditch the party and take Sam back to my place, and..." she trailed off and continued to look into the floor, suddenly all shy.

Santana placed a lose arm around her friend's shoulder and pressed against her body, "That sounds amazing, Q, I'm happy for you. I'm going to make sure that we do win today."

Quinn chuckled into Santana's neck, "Thanks S. You're the only person I can talk to about these things."

"Well, I do know a thing or two about dicks, so if you need advice-" she wriggled her eyebrows and Quinn rolled her eyes, "-even though I'm strictly into pussy these days, one can still hand out the good stuff."

"Baby, you're incorrigible!" Rachel reprimanded her from the other end of the room, and Santana just laughed. How that girl had such a good hearing, she'd never know.

There was a knock on the dressing room door and Santana, who was literally standing right next to it – due to the fact that these dressing rooms were tiny – pulled it open immediately. Only to come face to face with... Kurt.

"Spies!" Brittany immediately yelled, before she brushed pass Santana and engulfed the poor boy in a giant hug.

Rachel was next, hugging her best friend for all she was worth. "What are you doing here?" she questioned him as she eyed him in his blazer and everything, "Not that we don't appreciate the visit, but you're not really spying, are you?"

Kurt chuckled and tried to fix the invisible wrinkles on his tie. "No. We're done performing now anyway, so what good would that do?" he eyed the three girls in their dresses, "You look good, I trust Mercedes have been taking care of your outfits?"

"Damn right, Kurt!" Mercedes added from the other end of the room.

"Can we help you with something, Kurt?" Mr. Schuester asked then, smiling fondly at his former student.

Kurt's smile was wide as his eyes settled onto Santana, "Actually... I just wanted to talk to my favourite Latina."

Santana chuckled. "Me? Why the fuck do you wanna talk to me?" she asked him, because fuck that, it was pretty amusing that he'd come here with that one simple task in mind. All the other times where he'd wanted to talk to her, it was always about Rachel and what she could do better... He was seriously fucking protective over that girl.

Rachel glanced between the two of them, an amused smirk on her lips, "Whaaaat are doing, Kuuuurt?" she trailed off, dragging out the letters, thus sounding overly suspicious.

Kurt shrugged his shoulder, "That's only for Santana's ears, Divalicious." he replied and thereafter wrapped his soft hand around Santana's wrist, only to pull her out of the dressing room. He shut the door firmly behind them and pulled her a few feet down the hallway – just because they both knew that Rachel and Brittany would have their ears pressed against the damn door the second it closed.

Santana was about to ask him what the fuck was going on, when the boy smacked her firmly across the arm and gave her a pissed look, "What do you think you're doing, Santana Lopez?" he asked her.

Completely taken aback with the sudden hostility that oozed out of his every pore, Santana took a step back. "Huh?"

"Let's get one thing straight," he continued, holding up a finger for good measure, "I couldn't be more thrilled that you and Rachel worked things out, in my humble opinion, you two are meant to be, but I will not-" at this point he jabbed his freakishly small finger into her stomach, "-I repeat, _will not_!, let you treat Rachel the way you have been. She's my best friend, and I'm going to take care of her. I want the best for her, and if I'm ever going to be designing the wedding gowns in the Lopez-Berry wedding, I must inform you that you need to cut it out!"

The Latina swallowed loudly, still not completely sure of what it was they were discussing. There was something very odd about it, but Kurt looked very worked up – his usually so pale and perfectly moisturised face was turning bright red – and she had a feeling she was just going to have to let him explain it to her. "What are we talking about again, Kurt?" she asked him. She had a good feeling though – and if this was another person who was going to bring up the fact that she didn't want anyone else to mack on Rachel, then she was seriously going to lose it and whip out those razorblades from her weave. Wasn't it enough that Quinn mentioned it forever ago, that Puck had hinted it? And that Rachel even wanted to discuss it with her yesterday? She understood, okay! She just didn't think that she was doing anything wrong, like, at all.

Kurt sighed dramatically and stared at her, "There's a few things you need to realise, Santana, Rachel's hot stuff. I mean, people here in Lima, they don't get it, but as soon as you two are in New York, people are going to find her attractive. They'll see what a truly amazing person she really is..." he trailed off with a fond smile on his face, "They _will_ flirt with her! She's _going_ to be on Broadway, that's an inevitability, and she will play opposite other generally gorgeous people, and you can't let that ruin you!" he stared at her with wide eyes, and quickly continued, "You're a jealous person, you're a possessive person, which also played a huge factor in your relationship with Brittany. _You_," he continued, firmly, "need to accept the fact that Rachel is one sexy lady, and that other people will realise that."

Santana just stared blankly at her girlfriend's best friend. She – she didn't really know what to say. How come no one had ever put it to her quite like Kurt just had? Was she – was she really _that_ bad? Of course she wanted Rachel to make it big, she wanted Rachel to have all her dreams come true. And Kurt was right... other people were going to see how truly incredible she is, and they were going to swoon. But didn't she want that? Wouldn't it be nice to walk down the street with Rachel on her arm in New York – where people will love her – and know that she has everything that they want? Because no matter if they want Rachel, Rachel won't want them, she'll only ever... _she'll only ever want me_. And that was enough wasn't it? As long as Santana knew that, then they'd be good. And she knew, she knew it more than anything. Here in Lima, people didn't see the amazing sides that Rachel possessed, but in New York, in New York they will. But if she can't control herself and let Rachel grow... she won't be along for that ride, and what a fucking shame it'd be.

Was Quinn right when she told her that there were plenty of other girls? Yes, she most certainly was. But Santana only wanted Rachel. And it worked both ways, didn't it? _I just have to trust that... that if I only want her, she only wants me. _

Santana swallowed loudly and dared to meet Kurt's eyes. He was watching her with an expectant look across his face, his eyes shimmering with a thousandth questions and worries. She sighed, forcing the words to come across her lips, "I know, Kurt, it's... it's something that I'm working on." she whispered. Because fuck that. She just _really_ decided that she would. She _needed _to. If she wanted to keep Rachel (and hell yeah, she did!) she had to sort through this. After this conversation and the things that Rachel said yesterday, she was finally realising it.

"Rachel called me yesterday, after you fell asleep," Kurt continued, "and she said that she was so afraid of losing you that she would practically have agreed to anything to keep you. That's not right Santana, and you know that."

"I know," Santana said, "I don't _want_ to be jealous. It's not a good feeling."

Kurt said, "Rachel loves you."

"I know."

"She loves you _so_ much."

"I _know._" she continued, and she could feel this sort of happiness burst through her when she realised that it was the truth. And no matter if other people were going to flirt with her, act opposite her, Rachel was always going to love her. "I know that. I was... insecure for a second, but – but I'm fucking good now." she cracked a smile, "I believe her. We're good again."

Kurt's smile was huge when he gave her a soft pat on the arm, "Good. Because if you don't trust that she loves you, you guys are never going to work."

"Fuck yeah!"

He continued, with a pointed look, "So you need to tell her this."

"Don't worry," Santana promised him, "I will... Thanks Beyoncé."

He dramatically rolled his eyes at her, before he placed a soft kiss on her cheek and turned to walk down the hall. Santana watched him go for a second, before she reminded herself that they were supposed to go on soon, and that her girlfriend was probably freaking the hell out inside the dressing room.

Kurt had certainly given her a lot to think about. It was kind of scary, and maybe she should have realised all of these things sooner than yesterday, but no one had quite put them like this before. She was going to have to talk to Rachel about it all, but it felt good to know that she'd sorted it out inside her head. It – it made a lot more sense right now. At least in her own eyes. She hoped that Rachel would understand all of it, too. She just felt bad that... that she was the one who'd almost ruined it. Sure, Rachel was also to blame – the both of them were, actually – but maybe things hadn't gotten this far if she'd just... accepted Amanda and the fact that Rachel needed to help her.

She pushed the door to the dressing room open, only to come face to face with Rachel immediately. She didn't even try to look guilty for eavesdropping, but Brittany was behind her, and she glanced innocently at the wall and fidgeted with her dress.

"What happened?" Rachel immediately questioned, glancing up at her with wide eyes.

Reaching out, Santana cupped her cheek and pulled her in for a brief kiss, "It's nothing you need to worry about. Not right now. Just know that I love you." she whispered, pressing their lips together again, "Let's go and win this thing, shall we?"

Rachel's eyes shimmered beautifully in the light for a brief second as their eyes locked, before she turned around and dramatically clapped her hands together, "Alright everyone!" she said, and all their team-mates quieted down immediately (what a change since their last competition, where everyone (including Santana herself) had treated Rachel like absolute crap. The only one who'd stood up for her was Puck, and Santana thought that he was fucking awesome for always being there for Rachel). "This is it," she continued, smiling warmly at them all, "we've come such a... we've come such a _long_ way these past few months, as a team and as friends. It's amazing to be here today with you all, you have no idea how much it means to me to have you guys. I never really felt like I _belonged_ anywhere, and I know that a lot of you guys have felt the same way-" almost all of them nodded their heads faintly at this point, "-but now I know. I belong with you guys."

"We love you, Rachel!" Tina said as she reached a hand out to grab their leader's tightly.

The brunette singer continued, "Let's go out and win this thing! Alright! We _have_ to go to New York, and it all starts _here_."

"Let's do it!" Santana added as she jumped into the air with a fist-pump.

Everyone jumped out of their chairs and followed her example, before they huddled together in one giant hug.

**x**

"Hello everyone, we're ready to announce the winners."

Santana's hand immediately searched for Rachel's right hand, and like on instinct, their clammy fingers found each other and squeezed tight. This was the big moment, this was _it_. Were they going to New York or were they staying behind even after all the hard work they'd done? Santana wasn't ready for this dream to end; this dream of going to New York with all of her friends and just having a blast. She wasn't certain they'd win or even place there, because after all, they had been a club for no more than two years, but still... to just go there, and _sing_ there. It would be amazing.

She could feel the spotlight shine roughly down on them from above as she was pressed in between Rachel and Mercedes, New Directions pushed off to the left side with Vocal Adrenaline in the middle and The Warbles to their right. She swallowed roughly – she'd never been this excited, this nervous before, not at the same time. Not even when The Cheerios were standing like this, running for Nationals. This was different, somehow – this mattered more.

Fuck, this mattered _so much_ more.

A silence took over the auditorium.

"The judges have really loved everything this year, everything from Pink to Broadway and all the way around The Beatles as well!" the man continued, and Santana bumped her shoulders with Rachel's, because, fuck yeah, _they_ did Broadway, "But unfortunately there can only be one winner. With that being said, we've really been blown away by these amazing performances we've been privy to today."

The audience applauded and Santana frowned. _Why the fuck doesn't he just get down to business? _

Holding up the tiny trophy that was a match to the one Santana held in her hands last year when they placed third at Nationals, the man said, "Third place goes to... from Dalton Academy – The Warblers!"

Rachel gasped dramatically next to her, and Santana's heart did go out to their two friends, because third place was rough. She couldn't say she wasn't happy though; them placing third meant that New Directions had at least gotten runner-up. _Though runner-up is not fucking good enough! _Blaine graciously shook the man's hand and accepted the trophy, before shooting them a sad – but supportive – smile and taking his place again.

"And the winner of this year's Regionals competition in show choir is..." a dramatic silence filled the entire room, and Santana's eyes flickered from Sunshine Corazon who was smiling wildly, to Rachel who had her eyes squeezed tightly shut with a strained smile as she hoped with all of her heart. As the Latina grasped her hand tighter, she just _knew_ – she knew that they were going to win, because in her heart, she felt like they deserved it and that they'd absolutely _killed_ it. She had seen how the judges had smiled when she and Rachel started the party with _Take Me Or Leave Me_. Their team had been gathered on the stage, sort of like an audience to their little 'argument', and Rachel had been placed centre stage, until Santana had strutted inside to the familiar beat. A knowing 'aaah' had erupted from several judges and some people in the audience, and they'd only been more pleased when Rachel had opened her mouth and _really_ started singing. They harmonized perfectly, and not one delivery had not been perfect.

They'd positively _nailed_ it. And so had Mercedes, and so had the entire club. And that was why they were going to win, because they deserved this shot, and she was certain that the judges could tell.

"New Directions!"

And just like that, everything blew up around Santana. For about a second or two, a dramatic silence was present, because – had they just heard correctly? But fuck yeah, they had! And everyone started jumping up and down and screaming at the top of their lungs, and Santana pressed her lips to Rachel's repeatedly, until she realised that her girlfriend was positively shocked. She was frozen, yet she had tears running down her cheeks as her lips trembled dramatically.

"We just won, Tiny..." the Latina breathed into her ear, and this seemed to blow some life into her, because she squealed and wrapped her arms around Santana's neck, her feet dangling in mid-air as she laughed in happiness.

Mr. Schuester moved forward to grab the giant trophy, and he hoisted it into the air on his own, until Brittany and Puck thought they needed to be a part of that and quickly came to his sides. Everybody was laughing and hugging, and no one really bothered to quiet down as the announcer said that the runner-up was Vocal Adrenaline and they accepted their second-place with frowns on their faces. Santana was too caught up in what all of this meant-

New Directions were _going_ to New York. They were actually going to New York...

"I love you so much." Rachel whispered into her ear before she slipped down from her and their eyes locked in the middle of all the chaos.

Santana brushed a piece of her runaway hair away from her face and said, "I love you, too." before pressing their lips together a couple of times.

"Are we interrupting something?"

They broke apart to find Kurt and Blaine standing there, sheepishly grinning at them with their third-place trophy in their hands. They looked sad, but they didn't look too devastated and Blaine wrapped his arms around the both of them.

"Congratulations!" he said as he pulled back, "You two nailed it. New Directions won this because of the fiery performance you two put on."

Kurt agreed with a smile, "Yes, I must say that that was mind-blowing to watch. I don't believe the judges had a hard time deciding actually. You guys were outstanding." he pressed his lips first to Rachel's cheek, then to Santana's, "You must tell me everything about New York once you return. And make sure to get everything on tape!"

Rachel smiled sadly at his best friend. "I'm sorry you're not going to experience this with us, Kurt. I would have loved to sing on a New York stage with you. You're – you're my best friend."

Kurt laughed, "And here I thought Puck was your best friend?"

The diva giggled, "He's _also_ my best friend."

"You're my best friend." Kurt whispered, before he wrapped his arms around her and the two of them spent a few minutes hugging.

Santana shot Blaine a little smile, "Puck's having a... a party, I think. He would not be Puck if he _didn't, _so..." she shrugged her shoulders and couldn't help but grin even wider because she was seriously that fucking happy, "why don't the two of you come? You're like a fucking part of our club anyway, so it wouldn't be a Glee party without you."

Blaine nodded his head, "We'll be there. We're just gonna... we'll just go home and change and then we'll be there. Definitely."

"Good." Santana firmly said and turned her head to find Kurt and Rachel still hugging.

Blaine couldn't help but laugh, "Sometimes I think that if Kurt wasn't gay and if Rachel wasn't with you and stuff... they'd definitely be the perfect match."

Santana laughed. She'd sometimes thought about that too, even though she was quite certain Rachel would grow bored. She needed someone to challenge her. Like herself or... someone like Puck. Which was probably why her girlfriend's other best friend was the male version of Santana herself. "I think they're almost like soul-mates." she informed the other boy with a laugh.

He laughed again and thereafter tried to pull Kurt off of Rachel, telling him that they needed to go home and change to get ready for the party. And since Kurt at least needed two hours to be fabulous, they were already behind and thus they hurried off the stage. Rachel immediately sought to Santana's side, and the Latina was quite surprised to find that the audience had almost disappeared by now, and Vocal Adrenaline had most certainly left the stage. She could only see a lot of familiar faces on the first row, and she gave Oscar a little wave, because fuck that, he was her little brother.

The boy immediately squealed and jumped out of Julita's arms and onto the stage. He ran straight towards her – only to jump into Rachel's arms (what the fuck?).

"Rachel!" he said and pressed a sloppy kiss to her cheek, "You were so amazing, you sang so- so good! I wanna hear you sing more.. will you sing for me?"

"Someday soon, Oz." Rachel promised and brushed his hair back.

The boy slipped onto the floor again and the three of them made their way to the front of the stage to greet their families. Leroy pulled her off the stage and into his arms – he was so strong that it was no problem for him – and passed her off to Hiram afterwards, so he could give her a proper hug. Santana almost choked up a little bit. They hadn't even mentioned the fact that she and Rachel had fought – and she knew they knew, because Rachel talked to them about everything, _and_ she wore her heart on her sleeve – they'd simply just accepted the fact that they'd made up. She then found herself in her sister's arms, before she was sandwiched between her mother and father.

"You were perfect, mija." Carla said, brushing the back of her fingers against her cheek, "You and Rachel, you looked perfect up there together. Everyone in this audience could see how much you love each other."

She then found her baby brother squeezing himself to her legs as he hugged her, "You're my sister! I'm going to tell everyone that you're a star and that you sang for all of these people!" he promised her, and Santana laughed, just as she caught Rachel's eyes above Julita's shoulder. Her girlfriend was squeezed in between her two fathers, who were busy congratulating their only child.

Leroy then said, "Are you going to celebrate with the club now?"

Santana nodded her head, "Puck's throwing a party... it'll probably be wild and crazy, like usual."

Hiram sighed dramatically, "I still remember the first party Rachel really went to. On the morning after – while we were watching her attempt to handle her first hangover – we met _you_, Santana." he flashed her a giant grin, and Santana remembered that morning fondly. It was when she still didn't get Rachel Berry and everything in her life was messed up, "Our lives haven't been the same since. They've certainly been much better!"

"I second that!" Leroy laughed and gave Santana a high-five.

"Daddy, don't make fun of me having a hangover, it was a very disturbing experience for the first time!" Rachel argued and shot her father a glare, "Imagine what it's like when you've never tried it before. It was very confusing, I can inform you of that!" she finished and stomped her foot for good measure.

Leroy chuckled, "We're not making fun, Honey."

"We're simply reminiscing." Hiram finished.

Santana laughed warmly along with her family and the Berry men as Rachel fumed, and she pulled her girlfriend closer for good measure, just to reassure her that it was all because of love. She paused though, when a familiar frame caught her eye, and a … confusing feeling erupted all over her skin. She nudged Rachel in the side with her hand and motioned towards the big football player who was standing off to the side, looking awfully uncomfortable.

Rachel's eyes immediately lit up and she brushed pass her fathers to go greet... Karofsky. Santana wasn't sure if this would end well, but she was quite certain that he had to come in peace, because he was at a fucking show choir competition. Why the fuck else would he be there if not to _talk _to them?

Everyone watched the two talk with interest, and when Rachel's tiny hand settled around Karofsky's arm, Santana knew that everything was going to work out. Her girlfriend really had magic powers in some way, because who else would be able to convince this scary giant that accepting himself was better than bullying others?

She smiled brilliantly as they joined the others again, "Dad, Daddy-" she begun and gently nudged Karofsky forward, "This is Dave Karofsky. He goes to our school."

Hiram's eyes flickered with confusion as he reached a hand out to shake Karofsky's, "Hello Dave. Nice to – nice to meet you. I'm Hiram Berry."

"You too, Sir." Karofsky mumbled, and he seemed almost shy. He actually seemed _fragile_. This day was turning out to be very confusing.

"Leroy." Rachel's other father said as they shook hands, too.

Rachel smiled again and said, "Dave would like to walk with you to your car. He has a few questions he'd like to ask you. I told him you two would always be happy to answer them!" she gave Karofsky's arm a light pat, "Just remember to be kind, okay? And Dave, you know you're always welcome at my house."

"Thanks." Karofsky cleared his throat and offered Rachel a truly kind smile, "You guys were _good_... up there today, singing."

"Thank you!" Rachel smiled, before she leaned over and pecked both her fathers on the cheek, "We will be going now though, we need to change and then head off to Noah's."

Santana's fingers sought out Rachel's and they immediately intertwined, "Thanks for coming everyone." she mumbled, before she pulled Rachel closer and dragged her towards the dressing room – if she didn't do something, Rachel would stand there and fucking talk all day, and that'd get them _no_where. She pressed a kiss to her hair as they moved towards their dressing room.

"I can't believe this." Rachel whispered, looking up at her, "We actually won."

"Oh I knew we would." Santana mumbled, before she pushed the other girl gently against a wall to kiss her. Sure, they had to change, but there were a few other things that they needed to get sorted, too. Kissing was one of them, but... there was another thing that Santana felt like she had to get out of the way, too. "I'm sorry," she murmured, rubbing their noses together, "for being so jealous, Rachel... and for brushing you off last night. I've been thinking, and – and I know that my jealousy was a problem. I'm going to work on it, I promise. I know you love me, so I trust that."

Rachel's eyes shimmered with happiness as they locked with hers, "Really? Are you just saying this because you know it's what I want to hear or because Kurt threatened to kill you? ...or is it because you really mean it?"

Santana lowly giggled, "Kurt made me really _see_, Tiny... And it's the truth. We won't work, if I can't get over this, so I'll be working on it. It's you and me, so I have to get pass it."

"No one's ever been willing to do something like that for me." Rachel breathed, "Thank you."

The Latina kissed her again.

"Come oooooon, guys!" Mike suddenly yelled as he appeared out of nowhere, "Stop kissing in the middle of the hallway, there's a party at Puck's in thirty!"

"Fuck yeah!" they heard Puck add from somewhere.

And the two girls laughed as Santana pulled Rachel with her by the hand. To where, only the future would tell. But right now? They needed to get good and _drunk_.

* * *

_Yes, I think we all knew that they were going to win Regionals and get to Nationals. Was that really surprising? No, I think not. I hope everything else in this chapter was good though – I tried to tie up some lose ends, Karofsky is one of them. I also needed for Santana to realise a few things; after receiving some very important reviews I realised that I'd brushed up against the subject of Santana's jealousy, but not really sorted it out. So this is it. Santana's by no means over it, but she's realised it, and she will be working on it. _

_I'm sorry about the long delay by the way. I've been extremely busy, still, it's no excuse. I hope the next chapter will be here quicker than that – it's the epilogue, and it's set a few months from this chapter, so it should be pretty fun to write! _

_Please leave me your thoughts. Your reviews are always greatly appreciated. I love to hear what you guys think! _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or RENT or any of the other songs mentioned in this chapter. _


	35. Epilogue

**Epilogue **

Turning her wrist over to check the time, Santana frowned.

Why wasn't Rachel there yet? There was only fifteen minutes until the bell rang, and her car hadn't been in the lot when Santana parked hers. She was _sure _of it. And it wasn't like that Prius was fucking hard to miss. No one else drove a car like that. It didn't really seem like her girlfriend to not be there yet. Usually she'd be in the library, finishing up homework, or – more likely – in the choir room, doing vocal exercises. She was all wound up about Nationals in two weeks, which was, of course, understandable. All of them were, really, they were! But most of them were focusing on another very important aspect that was coming up _tomorrow_. Which was Junior Prom, of course.

Quinn and Sam had been campaigning all over the school, and they were a shoe-in to win. Santana didn't know anyone who wasn't going to vote for them. It was Quinn's dream come true, and thankfully she had the perfect guy right by her side to make it happen.

Anyway, where the fuck was she before Prom overtook her mind? Oh hell yeah! Rachel... where was _she_ again? It was becoming very fucking strange that she hadn't arrived, to be honest. Come to think of it... why hadn't she texted her already? She usually sent a cheery good morning text at five-fucking-thirty in the morning when she got out of bed. Not that Santana wasn't out of bed either, but she sure as fuck wasn't cheery about it. What could she be doing since she hadn't showed up yet... or fuck... who could she be with?

Santana took a deep breath. _Calm your own fucking tits, Lopez, she's probably just hanging out with Puck or maybe she's with Kurt and Blaine before school. You don't need to know who she's with all the time. _She firmly pulled her locker open and came face to face with the front page of that pamphlet that Rachel had taped up in there.

After Regionals where they'd discussed everything and Santana had said that she really wanted to work on her problems – which she fucking did, alright? It wasn't just because she wanted them to make up, she really frigging meant it! - Rachel had been adamant about Santana seeing Ms. Pillsbury-Howell about it. Santana found it endearing how her girlfriend had such faith in the truly worthless guidance counsellor, but she'd went there anyway, just to please her tiny diva so she wouldn't throw a tantrum. The teacher had been fucking happy to see her there and immediately handed her about twenty pamphlets for her to read.

That was how _So You Can't Control Your Jealousy Issues and It's Causing Problems Between You and Your Girlfriend _graced the insides of her locker. (Santana still wasn't sure how it was possible for Ms. Pillsbury-Howell to have such accurate pamphlets, but that was an issue for another time).

Grabbing her binder for her Spanish class, Santana decided to come to terms with the fact that she'd just see Rachel during lunch instead. As she closed her locker and turned to walk to her first class, Brittany caught up with her with a giant squeal.

"San! San, San, San!" she chanted and happily clapped her hands together. "Guess what just happened!" she all but yelled as they turned a corner.

Santana smiled happily at her friend, "What happened, Britts?"

"You have to _guess_, San!" the blonde girl continued and turned to walk backwards straight through the doorway. She was all giddy as she jumped over a desk and took her usual spot two seats from where Quinn was already sitting. Santana dumped her things onto the table and claimed her seat in between. "Will you guess, Q?"

Quinn closed her textbook and offered their friend a giant grin. "Is it about Prom, B?"

Brittany's blue eyes went absolutely wide and she nodded her head eagerly. "It is! Artie just asked me this morning. He wants us to go to Prom together and I can wheel him around in his chair on the dance floor."

The HBIC grinned, "Good for you, B! I was wondering why it was taking him so long to ask, Prom's tomorrow!"

Santana leaned back in her seat and tried to tune out her two friends as they started talking about dresses and make-up and corsages. She didn't _want_ to hear it – it was too much, okay? And especially with all these girls going crazy about it. She loved her two best friends, she did, but she couldn't deal with their yapping.

"-getting there? Santana? Hello? _Santana_?"

Santana snapped her head to the side to find Quinn shooting her a questionable look. "Huh?"

"How are you and Rachel getting there? Brittany and Artie are being taken by Artie's dad obviously, because of the wheelchair, but Sam actually rented_ us_ a small limo!" the blonde continued with an excited look.

The Latina straightened her back. "Uhm... I don't know?"

Brittany frowned. "You don't know?"

Arching an eyebrow, Quinn continued, "What do you mean you don't know?"

Santana sighed. "I just don't know?"

"Is Rachel surprising you or something?" Quinn wanted to know then.

Santana bent her head and softly murmured, "I-don't-think-we're-going."

Leaning over, Quinn tilted her head to the side and forced Santana to look at her, "What did you just say? I couldn't hear you."

"I don't think we're going, okay!" Santana snapped then, and angrily stared straight ahead, refusing to meet their curious gazes. She hated hearing about Prom, talking about Prom, but not because she _hated Prom_... she just hated listening to it because it sure as fuck didn't seem like she and Rachel were going. Not once had the diva mentioned anything so Santana was betting that she was too consumed in Nationals to really notice anything else.

Brittany licked her lips. "Why wouldn't you be going? Didn't Rachel ask you?" she questioned.

Santana shook her head and told herself to not flip out on them. It wasn't their fault that Rachel didn't notice the giant posters that adorned the hallways these days. "Nope."

"Why don't you ask her then?" Quinn added, "I don't really know how these gay relationships work, because with heterosexual couples it's practically always the guy who asks, but with gay couples, how do you really know?"

Santana shot her a glare. _Don't freak out on her, Santana, just don't. She doesn't know any fucking better. _"No one really knows, it just happens. Except I'm not asking her this time. I wanted her to ask me."

Quinn seemed to understand. "Oh."

"Could we just drop the subject, please?" she continued and flipped her textbook open just as Mr. Schuester entered the classroom and greeted everyone in Spanish.

She couldn't really concentrate as he started going on, though, it was so hard when her conversation with Quinn and Brittany kept going on and on inside her head. She knew that – technically – she could just ask Rachel, she'd certainly asked her on dates before and all that jazz, but... but this time around, she really just wanted it to be the other way around. And the worst part of it was that Rachel had no idea. But for just this night, Santana wanted not to take care of things and let Rachel make all the decisions and decide on the details. If Rachel couldn't figure that out, then she'd rather not go at all. She definitely didn't want to be one of those people who assumed that just because you were in a relationship with someone you were naturally going together. She wanted the formal invitation and everything, otherwise she just wouldn't show up at all.

Mr. Schuester was in the middle of explaining something about _ser y estar_ when suddenly there was a knock on the door. Everyone's attention turned that way and Santana felt her eyes go wide when it was Rachel who poked her head inside.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Schue, is it okay if I interrupt for a moment?" she questioned, and her eyes caught Santana's for just a brief second, and there was a wicked glint in them.

Mr. Schuester looked confused but he took a step back and motioned for her to come inside, "It's quite alright Rachel, what can we do for you?"

As Rachel stepped inside the classroom, Santana felt even more confused. She had her guitar slung over her shoulder and it rested comfortably against her back and in one hand she held a red rose. The smile on her face was genuine though as she stepped closer to where Santana sat – like a deer caught in the headlights.

She softly begun to speak, "I do realise that I am a little bit late seeing as it's already tomorrow," she sighed heavily and stopped in front of the table that Santana shared with Quinn, "but I hope you'll still consider going with me, unless, of course, someone else has already asked you."

Santana felt hope flutter in her chest, but the red in her cheeks? It was only because it was getting warmer outside as summer approached. Not because she was being fucking shy about it. Brittany's hand clasped firmly around her thigh in excitement.

"Soooo..." Rachel trailed off, without really meeting anyone's eyes, "Do you want to accompany me to Prom..." she mumbled as she held out the flower, and Santana was about ready to scream out 'yes' at the top of her lungs, "..._Quinn_?"

And just like that her eyes went wide and she head Quinn cough out wildly next to her in complete shock as well. Everyone inside the classroom went quiet as they watched the three girls with renewed interest. Santana wasn't really sure what was happening, but it was pretty fucking weird. Did Rachel – legit – just ask Quinn to go to Prom with her? Quinn who was dating Sam and running for Prom Queen, Quinn – who was best friends with Santana (who was Rachel's girlfriend)?

Rachel burst out laughing, "I'm just kidding, here Baby," she gracefully laid the rose onto the table and swung her guitar over so it was resting between her hands, "I wrote a song for you, and I'm sorry I'm so late in asking you this, but – here goes..."

Then she started playing some sort of catchy little tune and it took a second for Santana to realise that she'd just been played thoroughly, but as soon as she did, she reached for the flower and shot a glare in Rachel's direction. It didn't matter much though, because the diva started singing and it was the cutest thing Santana had ever been a part of.

_Santana,  
This is about mañana  
Not my bandana  
This a song  
It mustn't go wrong  
I wanna ask you to Prom _

The way that she was wriggling her eyebrows and staring down at Santana as she sang, it was the absolute most amazing feeling. Right there, in front of the entire Spanish class. She was simply asking her in song – the most silly, adorable song – if she wanted to go to Prom with her. It was clear that she was going about this in a humorous way on purpose, and Santana thought that it fit the two of them perfectly. If this had been Sam asking Quinn this way, she would probably have clawed his eyes out, but this... it was perfect for them.

_No, I don't wanna go with Quinn  
She's not my kind of woman! _

Santana couldn't help but laugh, and next to her, Quinn was laughing too, her blonde ponytail bouncing up and down as she watched Rachel with amazement. Santana was so proud to be her girlfriend – would anyone else ever be asked to Prom this way? No one could beat Rachel Berry and her truly dramatic ways.

_Baby my  
It's not a lullaby  
It's serious, because I  
won't be long  
Let's go to Prom!  
Please say you'll come along _

_See, I don't wanna go with Quinn  
he's not my Latina woman _

Brittany was happily clapping in delight in the seat next to her, and Mr. Schuester was laughing from his spot behind the desk. And no one in this classroom was telling Rachel to shut up and get lost, or calling them names because of the obvious display of homosexuality. Santana really couldn't believe how far they'd come since she and Rachel first started being friends. Everything had changed, and it had really fucking changed for the better.

Plus, it was pretty evident that she'd be going to Prom with her girlfriend tomorrow, and that was pretty much all she really wanted right now.

_I love ya'  
More each day  
This I will say  
I'll take you, Hon  
If you like my song  
We'll go to Prom!_

_Because I **really don't** wanna go with Quinn... _

At this point Quinn made an offended face because of the obvious emphasis on that statement, just to play along in the scenario, and Santana couldn't help but laugh as Rachel continued with her song, shooting a charming grin in the blonde's direction as well – just to soften the blow.

_She's beautiful!  
It's true!  
But I'd only wanna go with **you**!_

As the diva strummed the last few bars on her guitar and the song faded into nothing, the entire classroom started applauding her, and Rachel was grinning madly as Brittany whistled and Mr. Schuester kept saying '¡Bueno! ¡Bueno!' over and over. Santana leaned back in her chair and picked up the rose again, patiently waiting for Rachel to finish soaking up all the attention as the applause faded out.

"So?" she questioned, that mega-watt-smile firmly planted on her face. "I realise I've been a very bad girlfriend, Baby. I hadn't even noticed that Prom was this close because I've been working hard on the set-list for Nationals-" she smiled warmly at Mr. Schuester at this point and he gave her thumbs-up, "plus Mike and I have been discussing choreography. It was only yesterday when I was hanging out with _Kurt and Blaine_, that they suddenly asked me when the McKinley Junior Prom was and how we were getting there and which dresses we were wearing and if you'd asked me yet..." she trailed off and softly breathed out, "I'm sorry for not noticing. When I realised it was this Friday I thought to myself that since you hadn't brought it up, you were probably wanting me to ask you to attend the dance. So I wrote this song! It's not very good, because there's not many words that rhyme with Santana, but..." she stuck her lower lip out in a cute pout, "Am I forgiven and will you please go with me?"

Santana really wanted her to sweat it out and say that she'd think about it, but really – there was not a fucking thing to ponder. She'd been waiting for this since the posters started appearing at school, and she knew how Rachel got when it had anything to do with Glee. Nationals was a big thing, of course she'd be completely consumed in all of that! That was who she was. So the cheerleader wasn't going to let her wait it out, she was going to do what the both of them wanted – say yes.

She couldn't contain the giant grin on her face as she leapt out of her chair and leaned over the desk to wrap her arms around the brunette's neck. "Yes, I fucking wanna go with you, Tiny!" she happily said, and everybody started cheering again (Brittany the loudest) as Rachel sighed in relief.

"I apologise again, Baby," Rachel mumbled and pressed their lips briefly together, "and I must inform you that I have to cancel our plans to do homework this afternoon, seeing as I'll be pretty busy planning everything! I need transportation and a dress! Oh, and I'll have to get you a corsage. Will you please figure out what colour your dress will be so we don't clash horribly?"

Santana couldn't help but laugh as she sat back down, "I'll text you later."

"Outstanding!" Rachel quickly said, before she turned around and moved for the door. On second thought, she gave Mr. Schuester a giant smile as well, "Again, sorry for the disruption, Mr. Schuester, I thought you wouldn't mind, seeing as I chose to do it in song..." she backed out of the room, "I'll see you in Glee!" she finished, before she smacked the door close with a little bang.

Mr. Schuester was still grinning from ear to ear as he turned back around and clapped his hands together, "Alright! That was comic relief enough for today, I think. Where was I? _Ser y estar..._" he mumbled as he quickly fell into his old speech, as if he hadn't been interrupted at all.

Santana couldn't really follow him after that... all she had eyes for was the red rose that rested beautifully against the wooden desk. She really fucking couldn't wait for tomorrow night.

**x**

"Ay Alejandro, would you look at her! Our daughter is all grown up!"

Rolling his eyes, Santana's father padded his wife softly on the arm, "I see it Carla, I do... will you promise me not to make them pose for a million pictures once Rachel gets here?"

Carla shook her head and completely ignored her husband, "She's so beautiful in that dress. Santana, mija, you're stunning."

Forcing herself to look away from the mirror, Santana had to agree with her mother. She'd actually managed to choose the _right_ dress when she went shopping yesterday after school with Quinn and Brittany. She'd feared that it wouldn't be possible for her to find one on such short notice, that all the good ones would be taken... but one small vintage store had had exactly what she needed, and when she'd texted Rachel the colour, her girlfriend had been surprised. But it was absolutely fucking perfect.

The older Lopez woman placed her hands softly on her daughter's shoulders and their identical eyes swept over the cheerleader's form with identical smiles on their faces. "Niña..." she whispered, pressing her cheek against Santana's, "One day you'll be wearing another white dress like this... that's the day you'll be marrying Rachel, mi hermosa."

Santana felt this surge of happiness sweep through her and she swallowed loudly as she smoothed out the soft fabric on her lower abdomen. The bodice around her chest area was covered in lace and it flowed gracefully down her body and hugged her every curve tastefully before ending mid-thigh. There was a red ribbon around the front of it that matched Santana's high heels for the evening. The cheerleader had done her make-up like she usually would, with fake eye-lashes and lots of eye-liner, and her hair was done straight with her extensions as well. She felt like this was really her night – this was exactly what she'd dreamt of when she thought about going to Prom with Rachel and it was really fucking happening right now. She could hardly believe it.

And she couldn't wait to see Rachel.

"You're right, Mamá," she whispered, meeting her mother's gaze through the mirror, "I _will_ be marrying Rachel one day. There's not a doubt in my mind."

Carla immediately got tears in her eyes, and she pulled back and started awkwardly drying them off with the sleeve of her shirt. Alejandro shook his head to himself and moved to open the door when the bell buzzed. Santana could feel excitement all over – she just wanted this night to start, and when it did, it could never, ever, end. She turned around and grabbed her clutch from the dresser and took in a deep breath as she waited for her father to move so she could see her girlfriend.

And what a sight that was.

Stepping pass her father's form, Rachel looked absolutely amazing. She was dressed in a deep blue dress, that danced around her thighs and hugged her upper body tightly. Her hair was done in soft curls that completed the outfit entirely. And in her hands... she had a snow-white corsage. Santana could hardly stand to look at her – she was that perfect.

"You look beautiful." Rachel whispered, her eyes glazing over slightly as she took a step closer and the tiny heels of her strappy sandals clicked against the hardwood floor. "I – I got you this... It's completely white, so – so it matches your dress and it looks great against your skin. Only you can bear something so light."

Reaching out her arm, Santana wasn't really sure what to say. She just glanced at the diva and tried to control the mess of emotions that were threatening to wobble out of her at any moment. Rachel's soft fingers locked around her wrist gently, and as she slipped on the corsage, both of them held their breaths and looked at the flower, completely in awe.

Carla snapped both of them out of it by snatching a picture. "You look so pretty, Rachel!" she said, before leaning forward to hug her, "Santana, you need to get your corsage as well!" she said, before grabbing the box from the dresser and handing it to her daughter.

Rachel's smile was soft when she asked, "You got me a corsage too?"

Santana carefully pulled the lid off the box, "Every girl should have a corsage." she said, before she carefully picked the red flower up and tugged it onto Rachel's wrist. _Perfect_. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Rachel whispered, and the two of them shared a moment, before Carla demanded that they took pictures.

Santana even let her. She was so excited for today, and the Latina couldn't even be bothered to tell her mother to stop. She didn't want anything to ruin this perfect day, because it sure as fuck was. And one day in the future, she'd be able to tell all the Berry-Lopez children about this magical night and how it was absolutely perfect. Even the ride to school was perfect, though it was just Leroy and Hiram in some old car they borrowed, dressed up as real chauffeurs. It seemed perfect, and that way the Berry men were also a part of their evening, which in Santana's opinion made perfect sense. They'd been a part of their relationship since the first day.

The gymnasium was decorated beautifully, and everyone was in such good moods. Lauren and Puck were the odd couple, and Quinn and Sam really were the King and Queen for the evening, grabbing attention everywhere they went. Brittany and Artie seemed to be having a blast on the dance floor together, and Mercedes and her date were laughing at something with Finn and his date for the night. Tina and Mike were tearing up the dance floor, too, and Mr. Schuester seemed to be having a lot of fun with Ms. Pillsbury-Howell as they were meant to be chaperoning.

Santana only really wanted to be with Rachel though. It seemed odd, because this was something she'd dreamt of and she'd imagined spending the night with Brittany, occasionally hanging out with Quinn too, because she was her best friend. But now... now she could hardly stand to let Rachel out of her sight for a few seconds. She wanted every second of this night to be spent with her, not a moment could be lost. It seemed like Rachel shared the same idea as her, too, because her hand was constantly locked to Santana's.

It was so weird, how everyone accepted the two girls as they danced close together and shared small kisses on the dance floor. She could feel Azimio's stink-eye on them a few times, but then she turned her head over and Karofsky was right there next to her, and the supportive friendly grin on his face made completely up for it.

They'd accomplished something, they really had. Everything they'd been through they hadn't just persevered for their own sakes, but for other gay students at McKinley as well. Somehow, the Latina hoped that everything that happened with them... it'd make a difference for someone else in the future.

As Rachel reluctantly headed off to the bathroom, Santana crossed the gym to get them some punch. As she neared the table, she saw Coach Sylvester scare away some nerds from the AV Club, but when the older woman saw Santana approach, she offered her a genuine smile (those were rare, so the Latina appreciated the sentiment).

"Boobs McGee," Coach Sylvester said as Santana reached for one of those plastic cups, "I see that you and Idina Menzel are happily dancing together at this fool event. Please be kind to remember who made all this possible."

Santana took a sip of her drink, "Who?" she questioned.

Coach Sylvester barked, "_Me_! I made all this possible! If I hadn't been the wonderful and accepting person that we all know I am, you two wouldn't have lasted a day together at this school. It just so happens to be that I appreciate minorities greatly, so I gave you my support. Don't make me regret it, Lopez."

Santana bid back her chuckle, "I'm sure you won't, Coach." she said, before she grabbed the two plastic cups and hurried across the room again, to join the little group of Glee kids that had gathered there to take a breather. She sat down on Brittany's lap and placed her drinks on the table.

"Having fun, Sannie?" the blonde girl questioned and gave her a tiny hug. "You are Rachel look like you're getting married. Your dress is so beautiful."

Santana smiled, "Yeah, I'm having lots of fun, Britt! And thank you."

Brittany nodded a little bit, "Artie and I have been dancing and dancing. He tried to spike the punch, but Coach Sylvester caught him so I had to distract her with that bird in my locker, but he still managed to get away."

Mercedes took the empty chair next to them as Andrew – her date – went to grab them something to drink. "Whew, it's so hot in here with all that dancing, ladies."

The Latina nodded, "Sure as fuck is. I can't stop though!"

Mercedes offered her a gentle smile, "You and Rach seem to be having a lot of fun... it's so great to see you guys happy again. I want that!"

Santana didn't really know what to say to that, but thankfully Brittany was there, because she always knew what to say – even if it didn't make sense half the time, "Yes, Sannie and Rachie are happy again! How long have you been together anyway, San, if you didn't break up that one time?"

"Oh we didn't break up." Santana was quick to say, "We were never broken up."

Mercedes shot her a confused look, "But what about that time in Mr. Schue's apartment? Didn't you break up there?"

The cheerleader continued, "Rachel refuses to count those five minutes as broken up!" she explained to them, a smug grin on her face, because she had to agree with Rachel, that was just fucking stupid, "She says that those few moments were silly and immature and that the break-up was done in a moment of complete and utter brain-malfunction. That's her words, not mine."

Mercedes couldn't help but laugh and Brittany started humming happily next to her. Santana rested her cheek against the blonde's forehead and closed her eyes and relished in the feel of excitement that had been surging through her since she begun getting ready earlier this afternoon. She hadn't really had time to take everything in since she arrived because she'd been so caught up in Rachel. But everything about this night was perfect. Everything from the way that Mr. Schuester was obviously flirting with Ms. Pillsbury-Howell to the balloons and the music, and the funny way that Principal Figgins kept falling asleep in his chair right by the door.

She hated the fact that this night was almost over.

She could hardly believe how far they'd come. Was it really only this Christmas that her life sucked ass? That she hated Rachel Berry, hated herself and lived in a great big bubble of denial? So many things had changed... and she hated to sound fucking cliché, but most of those things had changed because of Rachel. This tiny little ball of energy and passion... who refused to give up, who kept pushing and pushing... who worked so hard for what she wanted. Santana owed so much to her. She didn't always understand why Rachel suddenly threw all her love and devotion onto her, but she'd never been more grateful in her life.

The cheerleader felt familiar hands wrap around her wrist, and she slipped off Brittany's lap, just as Rachel whispered, "Come dance with me again, Baby."

They moved onto the dance floor together as the band slowed down and soft music started streaming through the speakers. She felt Rachel pull her tighter as the smaller girl rested their cheeks together and they gently swayed to the music. Her fingers dug roughly into Rachel's bare arms, but she didn't complain, she softly hummed along and Santana closed her eyes to suck in the moment.

"When this is over..." Rachel trailed off, not moving from her spot against Santana – the cheerleader could just feel her lips brush against the sensitive skin on her neck as she spoke, "I know it's custom for me to bring you back home to your own house, but I was wondering if you'd like to spend the night with me? We can sit in the kitchen and have soy milk and vegan cookies."

Santana's face broke into a smile – she simply couldn't help it. "I love you." she whispered, because to her, it was the perfect response. As if Rachel needed to even _ask_ her if she wanted to spend the night. They both knew she did.

Rachel chuckled, "I love you, too."

"Thank you," Santana said then, pulling slightly back so their foreheads were resting against each other and their eyes could meet, "thank you so much for loving me, and... and for doing all of this with me. I don't know where I would have been today, hadn't it been for you."

Rachel's smile was soft and sweet as she replied, "I could say the same thing to you. I was certain that everything with Finn was true love and that my high school experience had to be one big mess of misfortunes. But you showed me what true love _really_ is, and you... _you_ made high school so much better."

The Latina brushed a piece of the diva's hair out of her eyes, "Maybe we helped each other then. Maybe we're good for each other."

The diva chuckled, "I can't believe this Prom is almost over."

Santana wriggled her eyebrows, "Me neither... I feel stupid for not having sex here. We should totally do it in the bathroom before we head home."

Rachel softly shook her head and laughed, "Baby, you're incorrigible."

Sticking her tongue out at her, Santana replied, "Yeah well..." she bashfully lowered her gaze for a second, "You're... _that_... too." she mumbled, for lack of better comeback.

The diva wriggled her eyebrows and softly started signing, "_Take me as I aaaaaam..."_

"Hey, save all of that for Nationals, Tiny." Santana butted in, but she really didn't mind that much. There was nothing better than when Rachel Berry spontaneously broke into song. Especially _that _song.

Rachel's grin grew even wider – if possible – by the mentioning of Nationals. She clutched the taller girl tighter, "I can't believe we're really going to Nationals."

Santana had to agree with her. Everything was looking perfect for them. "And after that..." she trailed off, "it's senior year."

"Yeah..." Rachel whispered, her breath ghosting over the Latina's lips, "it is..." she lifted her head slightly and firmly locked their eyes, her deep chocolate pools meeting Santana's in a serious gaze, "And then New York?" she questioned, her eyes wavering a bit.

Santana replied in a heartbeat, without even thinking, without even blinking, "And then New York." she promised.

And with those words, Rachel tiptoed up and softly pressed their lips together.

* * *

_Damn! This feels... odd. Fuck. So yeah. This is like... over now? I hope you liked it, really. It's been a truly amazing journey to write this piece, to get these two girls to grow (together and as separate people), it's been a challenge, but one of the most rewarding ones I've ever had in my Fanfiction career. You've been an amazing audience. Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this last piece of writing as much as I did – it was just a lot of fluff and good times. I absolutely loved when Artie asked Brittany to Prom with a song (though why he chose that song, I'll never understand), so as soon as that episode was done, I wrote Rachel's silly song with that scene in mind. It's true though, there's not that many words that rhyme with Santana. _

_I get the feeling that people are still in two different places regarding the Rachel and Santana fight? I guess there'll never be a right or wrong solution to that, because the two sides are so different, and the two girls are so different. The real reason – I think – that people are either on Santana's 'side' or Rachel's 'side' is because they identify themselves with one of the girls more than the other. Which is understandable, because the two of them are so different. I've tried to see both their sides in this, and let's just say, both girls were wrong, and both girls were right. At least that's how I see it. So I hope that you can all see that, too, even if you feel like either Rachel or Santana shouldn't have forgiven the other quite so quickly. _

_Anyway! Thank you all so much for reading this and for sticking through this with me. I will most likely be returning with another Pezberry fiction at some point, but it may take awhile. Like I've earlier said, I believe I'm going to venture into the land of Faberry for a little bit, and seeing as it took me roughly six months to write this fiction, it'll probably take me awhile to write my Faberry fiction too. But I will return – and that's a promise! _

_**Disclaimer; **I don't own Glee or RENT or any of the songs mentioned in this chapter (except Rachel's Santana-song, because that was just... well, not so brilliant). _


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